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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 




HE PATHWAY ^ 
OF SAFETY ^ ^ 

OR, COUNSEL TO THE AWAKENED 



JD I X ' ' "-. ^^% ^% ^w j^% j^w ^^ M^' x^^ t^* t^^ t^* ^^ t^* 

RT. REV. ASHTON OXENDEN, D. D. 




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VI 



Ptiiladelphia>^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 

HENRY ALTEMUS 



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Copyrighted, 1896, by Henry Altemus. 



The Library 
OF Congress 



WASHINGTON 



HENRY ALTEMUS, MANUFACTURER, 
PHILADELPHIA. 



CONTENTS. 



PACK 

The Object of the Book . 7 

CHAPTER I. 

WHAT IT IS TO BE AWAKENED ... 9 

CHAPTER n. 

SALVATION — HOW IT IS OBTAINED . . I9 

CHAPTER in. 

HELPS BY THE WAY. 

The Lord's Day — God's House — Public Prayer — 
Preaching — Confirmadon and The Holy Com- 
munion o . 25 

CHAPTER IV. 

HELPS BY THE WAY. 

Private Prayer and Praise 45 

(3) 



4 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER V. 

PAGE 

HELPS BY THE WAY. ' 

The Bible d^ 

CHAPTER VI. 

HELPS BY THE WAY. 

Religious Books — Religious Intercourse — Medi- 
tation — Communion with God — Self-examina- 
tion , 75 

CHAPTER VII. 

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP . . . . 9I 

CHAPTER VIII. 

DANGERS FROM WITHOUT. 

The World — Loose and Ungodly Friendships — 
Persecution 103 

CHAPTER IX. 

DANGERS FROM WITHIN. 

An Evil Heart — Pride — Temper — Uncharitable- 
ness — Selfishness — Idleness — Influence of Bad 
Plabits 119 



CONTENTS, 


5 


CHAPTER X. 






PAGE 


TEMPTATIONS OF SATAN . . 


. . 141 


CHAPTER XL 




DIFFICULTIES. 





Weakness of Faith — A Sense of Sinfulness — Wan- 
derings in Prayer — The Duty of Confessing 
Christ — Perplexing Passages of Scripture . . . 158 



CHAPTER XH. 

CAUTIONS. 

True and False Repentance — An Unstable Course 
— Religious Excitement — False Teaching . . .176 

CHAPTER Xni. 

DUTIES. 

To God— To One's Family— To One's Fellow- 
Christians— To the Worldly— To the Heathen 
—To One's Self 189 

CHAPTER XIV. 

ENCOURAGEMENTS 206 

CHAPTER XV. 

PROGRESS AND RELAPSE . . . .217 



CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER XVI. 

PAGE 

THE DISCIPLINE OF AFFLICTION . . . 227 

CHAPTER XVII. 

USEFULNESS 235 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

HAPPINESS 249 



THE OBJECT OF THE BOOK. 



I WRITE this book specially for one class of 
persons — not a very large class, I fear, but cer- 
tainly a very important class. These pages 
contain some Christian counsel for those who, 
through God's mercy, have been awakened out 
of their spiritual sleep, and who now feel that 
there is a great journey before them, and a 
happy land which they are most anxious one 
day to reach. And, if I mistake not, these are 
the very persons who are ready to receive, with 
a hearty welcome, a little advice from one who 
is desirous to lead them right. 

Are you, my dear reader, one of this class ? 
Are you beginning to feel concerned about 
your soul ? Is that earnest cry which came 
from the jailer's heart just the very language 
of yours — *^What must I do to be saved?" 
If so, happy are you. It is the Lord's doing. 
Nothing less than His almighty power has 
aroused you ; and that same power must keep 
you to the end. The salvation of a soul is 
God's work from first to last. But He is 
pleased to employ ministers, and books, and 
various other instruments, to carry on His work 
in the soul, and to bring it at last to heaven. 

Now, if I know anything of the secret 

(7) 



8 THE OBJECT OF THE BOOK. 

history of your soui, I think I am not wrong 
in saying, that many a doubt and many a diffi- 
culty now and then comes across you. A few 
words, then, of advice and encouragement will 
not be out of place. Perhaps you will say, 
*' This is just what I want. If any one will 
only take me by the hand, and guide me a step 
or two, such help will indeed be most season- 
able ; and it will be of no small service in the 
present state of my soul. Only show me the 
Pathway of Safety, and I will endeavor, by 
God's help, to walk in it." 

May the Holy Spirit be both your Director 
and mine, guiding me as to what I shall say, 
and preparing your heart to profit by my 
words ! 



THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 



CHAPTER I. 

WHAT IT IS TO BE AWAKENED. 

We all know what natural Sleep is. The 
body has for a time lost its power. It is, to all 
appearance, dead and motionless. The eyes see 
not ; the tongue speaks not ; the hands and 
feet move not. Its state is like that of a watch 
when it is not wound up. 

We all know, too, what it is to be aroused out 
of such a sleep. We are brought back to life, 
as it were. We have fresh powers given to us. 
Our sight is restored to us, and all our lost ener- 
gies return. 

Now, there is such a thing as spiritual Sleep, 
— the sleep of the soul. Alas ! many souls are 
thus asleep. Is it not so ? Else how is it that 
when we are told of ** a wrath to come,'* so 
few are taking any steps to escape it ? How is 
it that, when heaven is offered to us, so few are 
seeking it ? — that, although Christ has shed his 
blood, so few are caring for it ? Ah ! it is too 
true that men are asleep as regards their souls 
and eternity. 

If we want to know how it is that this sleep 

(9) 



lo THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

has come upon us, we have only to look at 
Gen, iii. or Rom. v. We there learn, that, 
when sin had once made its entrance into the 
world, man became a fallen creature ; his soul, 
from that moment, was stunned, as it were ; a 
deadly slumber crept over it. And hence it is 
that we see men all alive as to worldly things, 
but all asleep, and even dead, to the things of 
God. 

And was it not once so with you ? Perhaps 
you may have lived ten, twenty, or even forty 
years, without any real concern about your sal- 
vation, or about the world to which you were 
hastening. Perhaps in your earliest days you 
were solemnly brought to Christ ; you were 
given to Him in baptism ; you were numbered 
among His sheep ; you were marked as one of 
His ; the Good Shepherd received you into the 
arms of His mercy. But, oh, how soon you 
forsook Him ! You still bore His honored 
name. You still called yourself a Christian, 
and others called you so too ; but that was all. 
It might be said of you, as it was of the Chris- 
tians at Sardis, *' Thou hast a name that thou 
livest, and art dead^ 

Think what your state was at that time. 
You heard of heaven ; but you thought little 
about it. You heard of hell; but it seemed 
like an idle tale that you had no need to 
attend to. You heard of a Saviour ; but His 
love did not reach your heart. You believed 



WHAT IT IS TO BE AWAKENED, il 

him to be the Saviour of the world ; but you 
never applied to Him to save you. He seemed 
only as a stranger afar off. You drew not near 
to Him in faith. You heard of eternity ; but 
the passing things of time were all that you 
troubled yourself about. You made prepara- 
tions for days and years to come in this world ; 
but no preparation was made for the eternity 
that was before you. You were keen-eyed 
and zealous enough about the things of earth : 
you followed with much eagerness its recrea- 
tions and employments ; but those things which 
concerned your soul were done slowly and 
flatly; and your spirit moved like Pharaoh's 
chariot when the wheels were off. You read 
God's word occasionally, perhaps daily ; but it 
was a ** sealed book" to you: it did not inter- 
est you; it only reached the surface. You 
repeated, day by day, words of prayer; but 
you never prayed. There was no hear t-'N oik. 
with you. You listened to sermons ; but the 
gospel passed over your mind, just as the bright 
sunbeam glides over the closed window without 
ever entering in. Tiiere was light all round 
you, — a blessed light from above ; but not one 
ray reached your heart. 

And what must we say of you all this while, 
but that your soul was asleep, — fast asleep ; not 
dozing merely, but buried in a deep, sound 
slumber? It had no feeling and no life in it. 

But now, through God's grace, your state is 



12 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

perhaps altogether changed. You see things 
very differently from what you did a few 
months or a few years back. You are now 
awakened. You feel an anxiety which you 
never felt before. Your one chief inquiry is, 
how you may obtain pardon^ and how salvation 
naay become yours ; how you may be forgiven 
and accepted in this world, and how you can 
be admitted into the blessed company of God's 
saints hereafter. You are much in the same 
state as the Prodigal, when he ^^ came to him- 
selfy^' and said, **I will arise, and go to my 
father, and say unto him. Father, I have sinned 
against Heaven, and before thee, and am no 
more worthy to be called thy son.'* Luke 
XV. 17-19. It is with you as it was with 
Lydia, when ** the Lord opened her heart.*' 
Acts xvi. 14. As great a change has taken 
place in you as in St. Paul, who, from being a 
blind persecutor of Christ, became one of his 
most zealous and devoted followers. From 
your eyes, as well as his, the ''scales*' have 
fallen ; and '' whereas you we?'e blind, now you 
see." Acts ix. 18; John ix. 25. It is true, 
you do not yet see all, for there is some dark- 
ness remaining in you ; but still you see much 
that you never saw before. 

And do you not yourself feel like a man 
awakened out of sleep? Do you not seem to 
be almost in a new world ? Do you not feel 
those words to be most true in your case, *' If 



WHAT IT IS TO BE AWAKENED, 13 

any man be in Christ, he is a neiv creature : 
old things are passed away; behold, a// things 
are become new^^ ? 2 Cor, v. 17. A new 
life seems to open before you ; you have new 
feelings within you ; 7iew objects to live for ; 
new hopes to cheer you ; and you have entered 
upon the service of a new Master. 

Think, my dear friend, how great has been 
God's love to you, how great is the forbearance 
He has shown you, and the patience with which 
He has watched over you. He saw you care- 
less and rebellious; and yet He spared you. 
Again and again you resisted the Holy Spirit; 
and yet that Spirit strove with you, till at 
length He won you over to himself. Oh, what 
exceeding love was this ! Who can tell the 
length, and breadth, and height, and depth of 
it? And this God, whom you have slighted, 
and disobeyed, and trifled with, — this God is 
still ready to bless you, and to make you 
happy. 

And now you wish, I think, to serve him — 
do you not ? You can now see that an earnest 
religious life is the only life that can give you 
peace. And it is your heart's desire to live 
such a life. You almost envy those who are 
true Christians, and you wish to be one of 
them. In short, your present purpose is to 
cast in your lot with the people of God. 

Here let me throw in a word or two of cau- 



14 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

tion — not to discourage you — but because it is 
very needful that you should be sure of your 
ground as you go on. 

There is such a thing as an awakening of 
the feelings without any awakening of the heart, 
I have known persons touched by a sermon, so 
that their tears have flowed, and they appeared 
to be spiritually aroused. Their affections have 
been so moved, that they have fancied at the 
time that they could give up all for Christ. 
For the moment they seemed to be '* new crea- 
tures," and desirous of living a new life. And 
yet all quickly passed away, *' as the morning 
cloud, and as the early dew.*' There was no 
inward work of the Spirit upon the heart. 
The soul was in fact still asleep. It was dis- 
turbed a little, but never fairly awakened. 

Examine yourself then closely, and see 
whether a real inward change is taking place, 
and whether the Holy Spirit is now at work 
within you. And if it be so, let me tell you 
what will be your feelings. You will not only 
be ready to acknowledge your sin, but you 
will feel bitter sorrow for it. The thought of 
having sinned against God will make you un- 
happy. You would give worlds to recall the 
past. It grieves you now to think of hours 
and days that you have wasted ; of Sabbaths 
misspent ; of many an idle word that you have 
spoken ; of many a hard saying that escaped 
your lips; and of the evil temper, which per- 



WHAT IT IS TO BE AWAKENED, 15 

haps you tried so little to curb. The thought 
that you have lived so much to the world, 
instead of living to Christ — that you had 
a gracious and loving Saviour, though you 
knew Him not — that you have again and again 
grieved the Holy Spirit by the hardness and 
coldness of your heart, — all this, and much 
more, rushes into your mind, and pierces you 
to the very quick. All the ten thousand sins, 
in short, that you committed, or had the will 
to commit, though you lacked the opportunity, 
now come up before you. These thoughts fill 
you with the keenest sorrow. You feel that 
you can get no rest, until you find it in 
Christ ; and the one great desire of your heart 
is to live a life of holiness, and devotedness to 
His service. 

But I have another word of caution for you. 
Some may try to persuade you that you are 
not truly converted, unless you can give a 
clear account of all the particulars of your 
awakening. But this is altogether a mistake. 
It is not necessary to be able to say how, when, 
or where, you were first religiously impressed. 
*'The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou 
hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell 
whence it cometh, and whither it goeth : so is 
every one that is born of the Spirit.^' John 
iii. 8. As to the precise manner in which you 
were awakened, it matters little. If God has 



l6 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

by any means savingly aroused your soul, you 
cannot be sufficiently thankful. 

Neither, again, is it necessary that the expe- 
rience of all Christians should be precisely 
alike ; indeed, facts show that it is not so. 
God leads some in one way, and some in 
another. Because one Christian may have gone 
through this or that particular stage of feeling, 
it does not follow that you should have felt just 
the same. We are not all brought to God by 
the same means ; neither does the selfsame 
process go on in every heart. Some are not led 
to believe in Christ, and to love Him, without 
passing through severe trials and painful con- 
flicts. They are snatched as ** brands from the 
burning ; " they are '' saved with fear," '^ pulled 
out of the fire." In other souls the work of 
grace has proceeded unobserved by those around, 
and even perhaps almost unknown to the indi- 
vidual himself. Their hearts are naturally do- 
cile, and are as easily moulded as water is to the 
shape of the bottle into which it is poured. Of 
course I do not mean that they are ^orn Chris- 
tians, but they become so by so gentle and 
gradual a change, that they miss much of that 
conflict which others pass through. After all, 
it matters little how we were first brought to 
God : the great question is, Aave we been 
savingly brought to Him ? Are we grieved for 
our past sins? Do we long for holiness of 



WHAT IT IS TO BE AWAKENED. 17 

heart ? Are we cleaving to Christ, and serving 
Him? 

Now, before we go any further together, let 
me ask you to pause for a few minutes, and put 
up a short prayer to God. Perhaps the follow- 
ing may help you : — 

A THANKFUL PRAYER FOR ONE WHO IS 
AWAKENED. 

O Almighty Father, I confess to Thee how 
utterly worthless my past life has been. I 
have sinned against heaven and before Thee, 
and am no more worthy to be called Thy child. 
But, in Thy great mercy, Thou hast brought me 
out of this my ruined state. Thou hast given 
sight to my blind eyes, and awakened my slum- 
bering soul. O my God, I heartily thank Thee 
for this. Blot out, I beseech Thee, for Jesus 
Christ's sake, all my sins, known and unknown, 
past and present ; and make me henceforth to 
by Thy true servant. 

Blessed Lord, work in me a real inward 
change. Do Thou begin it, if it is not already 
begun, and carry it on, if it is. May it be in- 
deed Thy work. Oh ! let me not deceive 
myself in so great a matter. May Thy blessed 
Spirit enlighten me, teach me, and comfort me. 
Leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of 
my salvation. Enable me from this hour to 



1 8 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

give myself, heart and soul, to Thee. I desire 
to devote myself to Thy service, and to be all 
that Thou wouldst have me to be. 

Give me faith, that I may believe in Christ, 
and live upon Him from day to day. Give 
me courage, that I may make a bold stand for 
Christ. Give me strength, that I may resist 
temptation. Give me meekness and lowliness 
of heart, that I may walk humbly with my 
God. Make me Thine now, and Thine forever. 
Grant this, I beseech Thee, for Jesus Christ^s 
sake. Amen, 



CHAPTER 11. 

SALVATION, HOW IT IS OBTAINED. 

This is a subject of the deepest importance 
to every anxious soul. I trust that it is to 
yours. Once, the chief questions you seemed 
inclined to ask were, '^ What shall I eat ? " or, 
** How shall I dress? '* or, '' Where can I find 
pleasure?'^ or, '^How can I get rich?'' But 
all these questions have now given place to one 
far more pressing: — ^'I am concerned about 
my soul : how can I find salvation for it, — what 
must I do to be saved ? ' ' 

I have often thought that the most pitiable 
state for a man to be in must be this, — when 
he feels his sinfulness and his danger, and is 
conscious of having offended God ; but yet has 
no means of knowing where he may find mercy, 
no friend to point out to him any one bright 
spot, whither he may turn his anxious eyes in 
the hope of obtaining peace. I believe that 
among the heathen such cases often occur. 
There is many a man, who has for years felt 
sin to be a heavy burden, and has longed for 
relief. He has earnestly sought for peace, but 
in vain ; he has never found it. He has tried 

(19) 



20 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

this and that remedy, but all to no purpose; 
for, alas, he is ignorant of the only true remedy, 
and he has no one to bring it to him. He is 
like a weary wayworn traveller, passing through 
some desert land, who longs to quench his 
burning thirst; but there is no one to point 
out to him the refreshing stream, which he 
so eagerly desires. It may be all the while 
within his reach, but he knows it not ; and 
thus his thirst remains unsatisfied. And may 
there not be many in heathen lands who are 
thus weary and thirsty, and have no one to 
point them to Him who says, '' Come unto me, 
all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I 
will give you rest " ? 

But, thank God, it cannot be so with you. 
You have God's Word, and God's Ministers; 
and from them you may get the direction which 
you so greatly need. And what do they tell 
you? 

They tell you, first of all, that you cannot 
save yourself , No; this is utterly out of your 
power. For what is your condition? You 
have sinned, and forfeited heaven ; you are in 
debt with God ; you have lost His favor ; 
and if you had your strict desert, it would be 
eternal death: for is it not written, **The 
wages of sin is death ; " and again, ** The soul 
that sinneth, it shall die"? Ezek. xviii. 4: 
Rom, vi. 23. 

No ; you cannot recover yourself. You are 



SAL VA TION, HOW IT IS OBTAINED, 2i 

utterly unable to atone for your sins. You 
cannot win back the heaven which you have 
lost. You cannot undo the evil which you 
have done. If from this moment you could 
live a perfectly holy and spotless life, you could 
not put away even one of the least of your past 
sins. It would be as if a man were to run in 
debt, and then were to go to his creditors and 
say, ** I am grieved that I should have treated 
you so wrongly. I implore you not to press 
me for the sum that is due. I am resolved 
from this time to incur no fresh debt.'' Now, 
would this satisfy the creditors, and clear off 
what is already owing? Certainly not; for 
the debt would still remain unsettled, unless 
some one kindly came forward to pay it. Just 
so is it with your sins. You are a debtor to 
God ; and not one item of the heavy debt are 
you able to pay off yourself. 

How then, you will ask, can this be done? 
How can we obtain salvation for our souls 
which so much need it ? How can we escape 
the hell we so richly deserve ? How can we 
obtain favor with the God whom we have 
offended? How can we ever reach heaven? 
These are stirring questions for an awakened 
sinner to ask; and they shall not go unan- 
swered. From no quarter but one can salva- 
tion be obtained : no power but one can reach 
the hidden seat of our disease : no hand but 
one can touch the sufferer, and set him free 



22 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

from the cruel bondage under which he groans. 
Blessed be God, although we have no remedy 
in our own hands, He has provided one for us. 
He has looked upon us in our lost state, and 
has sent his Son to redeem us. That dear 
Saviour has shed his blood upon the cross, and 
has thereby made a full, perfect, and sufficient 
sacrifice for sin. He died, ^* the just for the 
unjust, that He might bring us to God.*' 
I Pet. iii. 1 8. He ^' bare our sins in his own 
body on the tree." i Pet, ii. 24. 

Here is salvation for the guiltiest. We tell 
you to pray ; we bid you go and weep for your 
sins ; we exhort you to lead a new life. But 
we tell you also that neither your prayers, be 
they ever so earnest ; nor your contrition, be it 
ever so deep ; nor your new life, however com- 
plete the change, can purchase your accept- 
ance, or even put away one single sin. Only 
the blood of Jesus Christ can do this. He has 
power to save, and he alone. He has paid 
the debt, which you yourself could never pay. 

Still you will ask, ^' How can I be saved? 
There is salvation, I know, but how can I make 
this salvation mine?^'' Suppose you lost your 
way on some dark night, and fell into a deep 
pit, so deep that you had not power to escape 
from it ; and whilst you lay there, in a state 
of utter helplessness, some kind person were to 
come and have pity on you, and let down 
a rope to rescue you, — what would you do? 



SAL VA TION, HO W IT IS OB TAINED. 23 

Would you not stretch out your hand, and 
seize the rope ? Would you not lay hold of 
it with thankfulness? So is it with Christ 
and the sinner. He must stretch out the hand 
of faith ; and so lay hold of the ".alvation 
offered, and make it his, " By grace/* says the 
Apostle, ^'are ye saved through faith.*' Eph, 
ii. 8. Grace is, as it were, the rope held out 
to the drowning man ; and Faith is the hand 
that seizes it, and lays hold of it. Happy 
those who have experienced this deliverance ! 
They can say with the Psalmist, '^ He brought 
me up out of an horrible pit, out of the miry 
clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and estab- 
lished my goings." Psalm xl. 2. 

A direct application, then, must be made to 
Christ to save you. Look steadily to Him for 
pardon, peace, life, and salvation. As the poor 
perishing Israelite looked eagerly towards the 
brazen serpent, and was healed. Num. xxi. 9 ; 
John iii. 14, 15, so do you look with the eye 
of faith to Jesus, and in Him you shall surely 
find fulness of pardon and peace here, and a 
life that will last forever. 

But many an awakened person is some- 
times kept back by this thought: — **Will 
Christ save such an one as I am ? He will 
receive those who come to Him with true 
repentance, and living faith ; but I fear that 
I have neither. My heart is too hard to re- 
pent, and my faith is full of unbelief. Surely 



24 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

I must wait till I am holier and better, before 
He will deign to look upon me." No, no; 
Jesus came to save the lost ; and are not you 
lost ? He came like a Physician, to heal the 
sick, and not the whole. If you were famish- 
ing, would you refuse a rich repast provided 
for you, because you were so hungry ? If you 
were perishing of cold, would you shrink from 
the fire, because you were shivering and com- 
fortless ? 

Wait not a single moment ; but come just as 
you are to the loving Saviour. Lay all your 
sins at the foot of the cross, with this only plea 
upon your lips — that you are a poor needy 
sinner, and that He is an Almighty Saviour. 

Remember, then, this great truth — this foun- 
dation-truth of Scripture — this truth which 
is written, as it were, with a sunbeam on the 
pages of God's word — that salvation is in 
Christ, and in Christ alone. He is your 
Remedy, your Ransom, your Sacrifice, your 
Hope, your All. ** Behold the Lamb of God 
which taketh away the sin of the world.'' 
'* Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou 
shalt be saved." John i. 29 ; Acts xvi. 31. 

** He nothing knows, who knows not this, 
That earth can yield no settled bliss, 

No lasting portion give. 
He all things knows, who knows to place 
His hopes on Christ's redeeming grace, 
Who died that we might live." 



CHAPTER III. 

HELPS BY THE WAY. 

THE lord's day — GOD's HOUSE — PUBLIC PRAYER — 
PREACHING — THE HOLY COMMUNION. 

Christ alone saves us. I have dwelt a while 
upon this in the last chapter, because I feel 
that this truth is the groundwork, the founda- 
tion-stone, the rock on which we must build. 
And I feel it to be of the very utmost impor- 
tance to you^ dear reader, — to you who are 
already awakened, and concerned about your 
soul, — to have this vital point clearly and 
strongly fixed in your mind. Jesus it is who 
from first to last must save you ; and as you 
pursue your onward course, you must, day by 
day, be looking unto him. 

But now, let me point out to you some of 
those gracious Helps, which He affords us by 
the way. I shall speak, in this chapter, of 
the Outward Helps ; or, as they are usually 
called, the Public Means of grace, 

I. THE lord's day. 

This is the Christian's day ; a day given to 
him by God, to have his body rested, his mind 

(25) 



26 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

refreshed, his soul prospered, — a hallowed and 
a happy day. Learn to prize it as one of your 
greatest blessings. You think of God, and 
draw near to Him, I trust, every day in the 
week. But this is the special day, on which 
the Great King seems to hold His court, and 
His people are pressingly invited to come into 
His presence. On other days blessings descend 
upon our souls like dew ; but on this day the 
Lord opens, as it were, the very windows of 
heaven, and showers them down upon us in 
large measure. You will find that the great 
secret of a happy week is a holy Sabbath. 
Give that day entirely to God, and you will 
have the less difficulty in walking with Him 
during other days. 

On Saturday evening let all your weekday 
work be finished. And then ask God to pre- 
pare your heart for the coming Sabbath. When 
you awake in the morning, say to yourself, 
*' This is the day the Lord hath made, I will 
rejoice and be glad in it." It is a good thing 
to begin the day by getting your heart tuned 
for the holy employments which are before 
you. Entreat a blessing on all the services, in 
which you are about to engage. And forget 
not to ask God to be with your Minister, and 
to enable him ''rightly to divide the word of 
truth," so that he may give to each one the 
allotted portion as he needs it. 

Let your Sundays be holy days ; and let them 



HELPS BY THE WAY. 27. 

also be cheerful and happy days — precious sea- 
sons of refreshment, to help you forward on 
your way. Some there are who hang down 
their heads, and put on a mournful look, on 
the Lord's day; but this is wrong. For the 
sake of others, we should show that the Sab- 
bath is *' our delight ; " and for our own sakes, 
too, we should regard it as a sweet foretaste of 
that joyous Sabbath, which we shall spend in 
God's house forever. 

Do you love your Sabbaths? You did not 
love them once. They were a weariness to 
you. You were glad when they were over. 
But now, I trust, you look upon them as so 
many bright and sunny spots in the journey of 
life. Be much with God on this day. Con- 
verse with Him, as with a Father; and learn 
from the Holy Spirit those great lessons, which 
none but He can teach you. And just as, on 
some warm day in summer, the grass grows 
apace, and the fruit ripens in a few hours 
more than for days and weeks before, so may 
each Sunday be to you a day of much spiritual 
growth, a blessed ripening for heaven. 

O sweetest day of all the seven, 
Emblem and earnest of that heaven 

Where saints have peace and rest ; 
For thee I thirst, for thee I sigh, 
And count the hours till thou art nigh, 

Sweet day of sacred rest. 



28 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

Oh ! let my heart thus sigh and glow, 
My song no intermission know, 

Till death shall seal my tongue ; 
In heaven a holier strain I'll raise, 
And rest from everything but praise-— 

My heaven one endless song. 



II. GOD S HOUSE. 

There was a time when you went to church 
as a matter of form, or for decency's sake, or 
to satisfy conscience ; but now you go for quite 
another reason — because you delight in being 
there. Your happiest moments are spent within 
those sacred walls ; and you feel it good to 
join your fellow-Christians at the hour of 
prayer. David's words now find an echo in 
your heart : '* I was glad when they said unto 
me, Let us go into the house of the Lord;*' 
**A day in thy courts is better than a thou- 
sand.'* Psalm hiyiy^XN. lo; cxxii. i. 

The moment you enter God's house, try 
and get a feeling of reverence upon your mind. 
The Lord says, '* Reverence my sanctuary." 
Lev, xxvi. 2. And surely it is no light thing 
to be in His house. You remember what 
He said to Moses, when he drew near to the 
burning bush \ and that bush was for the time 
a sacred place, for God was there: — ''Put off 
thy shoes from off thy feet ; for the place 
whereon thou standest is holy ground." Ex, 
iii. 5. Always keep this idea strongly fixed 



HELPS BY THE WAY, 29 

in your mind — that God's house is a holy 
place. It is His temple, the presence-chamber 
of the great King, where He promises to be in 
the midst of His servants. Let your feeling be 
something like Jacob's at Bethel, when he 
exclaimed, ^* Surely the Lord is in this place, 
This is none other but the house of God, and 
this is the gate of heaven." Gen. xxviii. 17. 

I am sure that it is most important to accus- 
tom our minds to a feeling of solemn awe, the 
moment we enter God's courts. This will do a 
great deal towards keeping us from wandering 
and trifling thoughts, and will help us to 
realize His presence. 

Remember that the hours you spend there 
are most precious hours, for which you will 
have to give a reckoning. Prize them, then, 
and make much of them, for they will soon 
pass away. You can read at home, it is true, 
and you can pray in secret ; but is it nothing 
to be told by your Lord, ** Where two or three 
are gathered together in my name, there am I 
in the midst of them " / Matt, xviii. 20. 

But you are in danger in God's sanctuary, 
as well as elsewhere. Satan will endeavor to 
draw away your eyes, and make them wander, 
and to steal away your heart, and fix it on 
some trifling object. Wherever seed is cast in 
a field, the birds of the air follow, ready to 
devour the grain. And where the seed of God's 
word is sown, there will ** the wicked one " be 



30 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

on the watch to ** snatch it away.'* Ask God, 
then, to fix His truth in your heart, and to 
rivet it there by the power of His Holy Spirit. 
Ask Him to keep you by his grace, or you 
may go to the house of God Sunday after 
Sunday, and yet miss the blessing which is 
waiting for you. Make this a special subject 
of care and watchfulness. 

III. PUBLIC PRAYER. 

This is one great object for which we go to 
the house of the Lord — to unite in prayer with 
our Christian brethren, and to kneel with them 
as one family before God. The Lord himself 
has given His house a name — '' My house shall 
be called a house of Prayer ^ Matt, xxi. 13. 
Look upon it in this light — not merely as a 
place of hearings or a place of preaching, but 
as a house oi prayer. 

Many go there merely to sit and listen. 
And if they remain quiet and attentive whilst 
the prayers are offered up, they think there is 
not much amiss. But you know the value of 
prayer. Go, then, for this special object — to 
pray. Join in the prayers, not only outwardly 
with your voice, but inwardly with your heart. 
Make it a time of earnest supplication. ** Draw 
nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.*' 
I need hardly urge upon you here the duty 
of kneeling in the house of God ; for I cannot 



HELPS B V THE WA V. 31 

imagine any really earnest Christian using any 
other posture in the Lord's presence. 

As a member of the Episcopal Church, be 
thankful that we have a regular Form of public 
prayer ; be thankful that we can use the very 
words which God's people have used for hun- 
dreds of years before us, and which thousands, 
both in our own land and in far-off countries, are 
using at the same time with ourselves. There 
is something very delightful in the thought, 
that other hearts are finding utterance in the 
very same expressions, that we ourselves are 
pouring forth to our Father in heaven ; and 
that those who are most dear to us are ap- 
proaching Him with the same petitions as our- 
selves. There is, too, a calm, peaceful, and 
devout earnestness about our Church prayers, 
which grows upon us the more heartily we use 
them. 

You may sometimes meet with those who 
dislike Forms of prayer, and they will perhaps 
taunt you by saying that our Church prayers 
are dead men' s prayers. But no, it will be far 
otherwise, if we have only earnest hearts to use 
them. They will be living prayers, if only the 
life of God is in our souls. Those holy men 
and martyrs who framed them, it is true, have 
long since passed away from this world ; but 
could they have left us a more precious legacy 
for our use than this ^^ form of sound words " ? 
These very men, we believe, are now *' before 



32 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

the throne of God/* having exchanged the 
voice of prayer for that of endless praise. 

Prize, then, your Church prayers ; and enter 
into the spirit of them. We may use a Form 
of prayer without ht'mg formal, if the Spirit of 
God does but touch our hearts, and open our 
lips. And if you find an increased enjoyment 
in this part of the service, I know of scarcely 
any surer proof that your soul is in a healthy 
state ; for it shows that prayer is a comfort 
to you, not because you are excited for the 
moment, but because you feel a steady, fixed 
desire to wait upon God, and to make known 
your requests unto Him. 

I would on no account throw a slight on ex- 
tempore prayer. There are times when the 
awakened heart will, and must, speak for itself ; 
for no words but its own can express all it 
feels. But I would guard you against the 
notion that extempore prayer is more suitable 
for Public Worship, and more profitable for a 
Congregation, than a Form of prayer. 

I cannot leave this subject without saying 
a word or two about wandering in prayer. 
Perhaps you are ready to complain that this 
troubles you. Yes, it may be you have often 
grieved, when the closing prayer is offered, 
that you have prayed so little. Who has not 
felt this? Let us carefully watch against it, 
and entreat God to keep us from thus dis- 
honoring Him. Steadily and earnestly set 



HELPS BY THE WAY, 33 

yourself to correct this habit of inattention; 
and you will find, by degrees, that the tempta- 
tion will grow weaker, and prayer become 
more and more delightful to you. You will 
find, too, that the more enjoyment you have in 
public prayer, the more your soul will grow 
and prosper. 

IV. PREACHING. 

Great things are stated in the Bible with 
regard to Preaching. It is said to save us; 
** Receive with meekness the engrafted word, 
which is able to save your souls." James i. 21. 
'* It pleased God, by the foolishness of preach- 
ing, to save them that believe. '* i Cor. i. 21. 
We can hardly value too highly the preaching 
of the gospel as a Christian ordinance. Three 
thousand souls were converted by it on the 
Day of Pentecost. It is by this instrument 
that God is often pleased to arouse the sinner, 
and to strengthen and build up His own 
people. 

Have you never gone to church cold and 
dull, and something from the preacher's lips 
has fallen like a beam of light upon your heart, 
and has sent you home rejoicing? We may 
liken it to the effect we have sometimes seen 
on a summer's morning, when the sun mounts 
high, but there is a mist that hides it from 
our view. Suddenly a gleam bursts through 
it, the gloom is dispersed, and all is clear 
3 



34 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

and bright. And has it never been so with 
you ? Some word spoken in God's house has 
come as a message of light to your soul, and 
you have gone home relieved and gladdened : 
every mist has cleared away. 

Listen with deep attention to every sermon 
you hear ; for it concerns the very life of your 
soul. Listen with faith, believing that the 
Lord himself speaks to you by his ambassador. 
Listen with pray erf ulness, continually lifting 
up your heart to God ; for what you need is 
His blessing on the seed sown ; and remember, 
there is one by your side ready to snatch it 
away. Listen with humility and teachable- 
ness ; for you have much, very much, to learn. 
I feel that one of the faults of the present day 
is a lack of this humility. The direction of 
the apostle is forgotten— ^^ Receive with meek- 
ness the engrafted word." And it is on this 
account that the word preached does not profit 
us so much as it might. Cultivate a spirit of 
humility, and seek to have the mind of Mary, 
who was content to sit at the feet of Jesus, and 
hear his word. 

Endeavor to carry away as much as you can 
of every sermon. Think it over when you get 
home, and lay it up in the storehouse of your 
heart. The seed, unless it is worked in below 
the surface of the soil, will never spring up and 
bear fruit. It is *^ the entrance''' of God's word, 
that ^^giveth light." Ps, cxix. 130. 



HELPS BY THE WAY, 35 

Are we careful and watchful enough over 
ourselves on leaving the house of God ? When 
the sermon is ended, and the service is over, 
let us not think that the work is done. We 
must then be cautious lest we lose the store 
which we have gathered, and lest the fire which 
has been lighted within us be quenched. Avoid, 
as much as possible, worldly and trifling con- 
versation on your way home. And, as soon as 
you are able, it may be well to retire to your 
chamber for a few minutes of secret prayer 
to God, asking him to bless what you have 
heard, and fix it in your heart. 

Our Lord once said to his disciples, *'Take 
heed how ye hear." And we have great reason 
to take heed^ lest the Tempter rob us of the 
offered blessing. Pray before you hear — whilst 
you are hearing — and after you have heard. 
Before, that God would prepare your heart ; 
whilst hearing, that God would bring home His 
word to your very soul ; and after, that the 
precious seed may take root, and bear fruit an 
hundredfold. 

Sometimes it happens that we are tempted to 
find fault with the Preacher. Resist this by 
every means; and rather be disposed to find 
fault with yourself. It seems to gratify our 
natural pride and vanity to be able to pull a 
sermon to pieces, and show how this difficulty 
might have been better explained, and that doc- 
trine more clearly stated. We find others around 



36 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

US perhaps doing this, and we think that they 
must needs have much spiritual grace and 
discernment. But I hardly know of a more 
dangerous practice to indulge in, and I would 
earnestly guard you against it. I believe it to 
be one of Satan's great devices for robbing us of 
.that which would otherwise nourish our souls. 
He likes thus to busy us with the outside shell, 
whilst he carefully draws away the precious 
kernel. The ministry of the gospel has been 
committed to ^* earthen vessels, that the excel- 
lency of the power may be of God,^ and not 
of man. The vessel may be plain \ but God's 
blessing may be with it. The hand that sows 
the seed may be feeble; but He can *'give the 
increase." The words of the minister may be 
poor in themselves, or his matter dry, or his 
manner of delivering his message unwelcome ; 
but there is something to be gleaned from every 
sermon — there is something in it that may do 
you good. Listen then, not to find faulty but 
io be fed ; and thus you will get many a refresh- 
ing meal, whilst others are sent empty away. 

Take it as a bad sign, when you begin to get 
restless and discontented, and when you are 
constantly desiring to hear strange preachers. 
This is often the case with newly-awakened 
persons. They are inclined to think that they 
cannot hear too much. Thus their minds get 
into a feverish state, they are *^ tossed about with 
every wind of doctrine," and they are forever 



HELPS BY THE WAY. 37 

hungering after some change of spiritual food. 
I would affectionately warn you against this. 
It is a bad and unhealthy state to get into. 
There are some spoken of in Scripture, who 
are ^* ever learning, and never able to come to 
the knowledge of the truth.'* 2 Tim, iii. 7. 
They go here and there with open ears, but lay 
up no food and nourishment in their souls. 
We are told too of others, who ''spent their 
time in nothing else, but either to tell or to 
hear some new thing." Acts xvii. 21. Be- 
ware of this unsettled and unstable state of 
mind. Value the preaching of God's word 
highly — as highly as you please. But let it be 
for the truth's sake, and not to satisfy an itch- 
ing ear, or a restless fancy. Look not so much 
to the hand that brings the food to you, or at 
the manner in which it is dealt out to you ; 
but look to the food itself; and try to gather 
from it all the nourishment you can. Look 
above the messenger, to Him who sends you 
the message. Let the humble, teachable spirit 
of Cornelius be yours, *' Now, therefore, we 
are all here present before God, to hear all 
things that are commanded thee of God." 
Acts X. 33. 

And here let me put in a word of advice. 
Besides receiving thankfully the truths which 
your Minister proclaims to you in public, you 
should look upon him as your Counsellor in all 
spiritual matters. It is written, *' The priest's 



38 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

lips should keep knowledge, and they should 
seek the law at his mouth, for he is the mes- 
senger of the Lord of hosts/* MaL ii. 7. 
Then go to him in all your difficulties. Fly to 
him for advice. Open your heart to him. Tell 
him of all that perplexes you. Many things, 
which he has set before you from the pulpit, 
he may be able to unfold to you more fully in 
private. And if there should be anything 
either in God^s word, or in God's dealings 
with you, which causes you some little anxiety, 
he may be able to throw such further light 
upon it, as may greatly relieve your mind. 
Regard him, in short, as the Messenger of God 
to you, and also the spiritual Physician who 
can administer healing medicines to your soul. 

V. CONFIRMATION AND THE HOLY COMMUNION. 

The Lord's Supper is the highest and most 
solemn means of grace that a Christian can 
partake of. This is no common food : it is 
** the children's bread" — the great spiritual 
meal, for which God's family from time to time 
meet around His table. 

But, before coming to this sacred feast, you 
are required to receive the rite of Confirmation, 
which is called in Scripture ^^ the laying on of 
hands, ' ' 

Confirmation is the first open act of profes- 
sion, by which an Episcopalian declares him- 
self to be an earnest follower of his Saviour. 



HELPS BY THE WAY. 39 

It is often the first public step in the heaven- 
ward walk of an awakened person — the first 
public avowal of his determination to be the 
Lord's. It is then his duty and privilege to 
come to the Lord's table. Now, I must not 
forget that there are various hindrances, which 
may often keep back timid Christians from this 
privilege. 

For instance, you may be afraid of the strict 
life, which an earnest communicant ought to 
lead ; in other words, you may shrink from 
a close walk with Christ. Oh, fear it not. 
Shrink not from entering upon it. Doubt not 
about giving your whole heart to Christ. It is 
your duty, to which you were pledged at your 
JBaptism^ and which you renewed in Confirma- 
tion. It is your happiness too. You will find 
it a path of real and solid peace. 

Or, do those words of the Apostle alarm you, 
which speak of '' eating and drinking un- 
worthily'' ? A humble and earnest Christian, 
weak though he be, and encompassed with in- 
firmities, is welcome to his Saviour's table. 
Come in all your weakness and misery, and 
you will find that *^He giveth power to the 
faint ; and to them that have no might he in« 
creaseth strength." Isa. xl. 29. 

Or perhaps you may hear it said, that 
''many go, and are none the better,'' This is 
true ; and why is it, but because they go in a 
wrong spirit. If you are really anxious about 



40 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

your soul, and honestly wish to serve Christ, 
and to grow in meetness for heaven, then I 
feel sure that it will be your desire to approach 
in a right frame, and you will not come away 
unblest. 

Some tremble to approach the Table of the 
Lord, lest Satan should afterwards enter into 
them, as he did into Judas, and then that their 
latter end should be worse than the first. But 
this is not the trusting spirit of a Christian 
who has heartily committed his soul into God^s 
hands : it is doubting His power to keep them. 
Jesus bids us, in mercy, to come to His Table, 
that we may get strength for our onward jour- 
ney. Oh, then, think not that He would ever 
have made this ordinance to be a trap and a 
snare to tender consciences, and weak believers. 
Is it your heart's desire to serve Him ? Then 
do not think so hardly of Him, as to suppose 
that He could allow that, which He intended 
for your welfare, to be unto you an occasion of 
falling. 

Believe me, it is not a matter of small 
importance, whether you come to this sacra- 
ment, or stay away. Christ has given it as 
a plain command to his followers to ''do this in 
remembrance " of Him. If then you are one 
of His servants, or if you have an earnest long- 
ing to be one, you will not think lightly of so 
great an ordinance. You are on your journey 
to heaven. The way is steep, and the path 



HELPS BY THE WAY, 41 

rugged, and you yourself full of weakness. 
You need nourishment by the way ; and here 
is the richest food — you are invited to feed 
spiritually on the body and blood of your 
Lord. 

If you have never approached this heavenly 
feast, I would counsel you not to be content 
for one moment longer to turn away from it. 
You cannot be a true Christian, and yet con- 
tinue to do so. You cannot expect to grow in 
grace, if you neglect so important a means of 
grace. Go to your minister or to some pious 
friend and consult him about it. Lay open 
your religious feelings to him, and ask him to 
guide you in the matter. 

But if you are already a Communicant, look 
upon it as your highest privilege. Draw 
nearer and nearer to Christ, and *^ feed upon 
Him in your heart by faith.'* His ''flesh is 
meat indeed, and his blood is drink indeed.*' 
John vi. 55. Be a regular communicant. 
You cannot too often wait upon Christ. You 
cannot be filled too full with His blessings. 
Your soul needs much ; and your Lord has 
much to give you. 

Welcome, then, your Communion Sundays 
as your best Sundays. Look forward to them 
with joy and delight. Expect a large blessing 
from them. And count your admission to the 
Lord's table as a great honor, of which you are 
but little deservinof. 



42 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

And let me recommend to you special prep- 
aration before receiving the holy Communion. 
Spend a little time, during the few previous 
days, in solemnizing your heart for this holy 
ordinance. Make it a time for inward heart- 
searching, for lifting up the soul to God, and 
holding closer communion with Him. Why 
are our sacramental seasons not more profit- 
able? Why have we so often to complain 
that the ordinance is not more blest to us? It 
is^ I think, because we take so little pains to 
trim our lamps and put our heart in order, for 
the reception of our Lord and Master. Doubt- 
less He is ready to meet us in His own feast. 
There He is waiting to cheer us, and feed us, 
and bless us. But we feel cold and strange in 
His presence. A musical instrument, even the 
best, needs careful tuning before it is fit for use. 
Without this, would it not be folly to attempt 
to play correctly upon it? And how much 
more do our hearts require to be tuned before 
coming to so sacred a feast, and warmed by a 
nearer intercourse with our heavenly Friend ! 

The Communicants in a parish are persons 
from whom we should expect the holiest lives. 
I say not that they all do lead such lives ; but 
\k\ty profess to do so by the very act of coming 
to the Lord's table. They only, in fact, claim 
full membership with the Church. Others may 
belong to the Church, but these are in full com- 
munion with her. Others may be in the outer 



HELPS BY THE WAY. 43 

fold ; but only these are in the way of feeding 
upon the full richness of the pasturage. 

Count it, then, your privilege and blessed- 
ness to be numbered among the Communicants 
of the Church. And although there may be 
here and there a faithless one among them — 
even as there was a Judas among the twelve — 
still look upon this as an open profession of 
your love to a crucified Saviour. Pray that 
you^ at least, may be found faithful, that yours 
may be a holy and consistent course, and that 
you may walk worthy of so high a privilege. 

I have now called your attention to the prin- 
cipal Public means of grace. Do not under- 
value any one of them. It has been said, that 
'* every ordinance of God is what we make it 
to ourselves; '' that is, its amount of blessing 
to us depends on our hearts being in a right 
state to receive it. For instance, one man 
approaches the Lord^s table carnally and 
blindly. He eats the bread and drinks the 
wine ; but there is no Christ there for him. 
By his side, perhaps, there kneels one in peni- 
tence and fkith. He finds Christ in the ordi- 
nance, and feels the truth of that word, *^My 
flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink 
indeed.'* Again, one man may hear a sermon 
with his ears, and carry nothing away ; he may 
even listen to it, and understand it, and yet it 
may never reach his heart ; whilst another may 



44 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

hear the selfsame sermon, and be aroused by it, 
or taught by it, or comforted by it. 

Oh, then, ask God to make you a fit receiver 
of the means of grace. Ask Him to make his 
ordinances channels of blessing to you — golden 
pipes, through which the streams of His grace 
shall flow into your soul. 



CHAPTER IV. 

HELPS BY THE WAY. 
PRIVATE PRAYER AND PRAISE. 

Besides those Public Helps which our hea- 
venly Father has provided for his children, He 
has also furnished other methods of a more 
Private kind, which they must diligently use, 
if they would grow in grace. One of these, 
and perhaps the most important, is Private 
Prayer. 

We are again and again charged, in God's 
word, to engage in this holy exercise. Our 
Lord himself says, to each one of his followers, 
'*But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy 
closet, and, when thou hast shut thy door, 
pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy 
Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee 
openly." Matt, vi. 6. When a person is 
first awakened, there is, as I have said, gener- 
ally a hungering for public ordinances, espe- 
cially preaching. But it is closet-work that, 
perhaps, we most need — the study of our 
Bibles — drawing near to God in secret, and 
feeling ourselves alone with Him. 

(45) 



46 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

Doubtless, you have often said your prayers. 
You have, perhaps, been accustomed all your 
life regularly to say prayers morning and even- 
ing ; but can you now look back and see that 
it was but a cold, formal service — the repeating 
a string of holy words, and but little more ? 
It was ///>-work, and not heart-v7ox\. You 
used words of prayer, but you did not pray. 
You went through the ceremony of certain 
devotions, as a soldier goes regularly through 
his exercises, but the spirit of prayer was alto- 
gether wanting. Alas ! you have reason, in- 
deed, to ask God to pardon this among your 
other sins — to forgive the sin you have so often 
committed on your knees. 

If, however, you have now a new life within 
you. Prayer will be one sure sign of the change. 
If the Holy Spirit is at work in your soul, you 
cannot but pray. When a child is first born, 
we know that it is a living child, because it 
breathes. When a man has been nearly 
drowned, one of the first symptoms of return- 
ing life is that his bosom heaves. And so, if 
your soul has been quickened by the Spirit of 
God, and *' is passed from death unto life,'* 
you will surely breathe the breath of prayer. 
God has no dumb children ; they all cry, 
'^Abba, Father." You may remember that it 
was said of Saul, when he was converted, 
''Behold! he prayeth.'* Acts \yi. ii. Others 
might not have seen him pray, but his God 



HELPS BY THE WAY. 47 

did. There he was, concealed from the eyes 
of men, pouring out his soul before the Lord. 
Like you, it may be, he had used prayers all 
his life ; day after day he had offered up words 
to God ; but never till then did he put up real 
prayer — prayer that came from his heart, prayer 
that burst forth from a soul deeply conscious of 
its wants. 

Mark this — if you are a true Christian, you 
will be a man of prayer. Many a Christian 
has gone to heaven without the advantage of 
public ordinances ; for he may have lain for 
years on a sick bed, and so have been debarred 
from them altogether. Some have reached 
that happy place, without ever being able to 
read a single page in a book. But never has 
any Christian struggled through this world, 
and gained the victory at last, without /r^j^^r/ 
no, not one. Prayer is absolutely essential to 
the Christian's life. It is the key, as it were, 
by which the door of heaven is unlocked. 
It is the watchword of every Christian soldier. 

Christians may differ from one another on 
many points. Some Christians are rich, and 
some poor; some are learned, and some have 
little or no learning; some have many trials, 
and some have few. But all true Christians 
are alike in this one thing — they love prayer ; 
they feel the value of it ; they pray constantly, 
and from the heart. 

A man need not be a scholar to pray. It is 



48 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

not learning that is needed, but spiritual life 
and earnestness. It is very possible to have 
much knowledge of wordly things — yes, and 
even a head-knowledge of religion too — and 
yet a praying heart may be altogether wanting. 
It is not so much the words that God regards, 
as it is the heart that utters them. A cold 
prayer will be a rejected prayer. There must 
be fire in the sacrifice, otherwise it will not 
mount upwards. Earnest cries— heart-cries — 
these take the Lord's ear, and move His com- 
passion ; for these are the voice and cries of 
His own children. A little girl once beauti- 
fully described prayer by saying that it was 
^^the heart talking with God ;^^ and Luther 
tells us that it is ^'the mind mounting up to 
Himr 

Our fluent language, or our well-chosen 
words, will do but little to recommend our 
devotions to God ; it is their being breathed 
out by the Holy Spirit. Then every groan 
speaks, and every word is winged, and reaches 
the throne on high. *'It is not the composi- 
tion of prayer," says Archbishop Leighton, 
'* or the eloquence of expression, that is the 
sweetness of it in God*s sight, and makes it a 
sacrifice of a sweet savor to Him, but the 
breathing forth of the desire of the heart. 
This it is that makes it a spiritual sacrifice ; 
otherwise, it is as carnal, and dead, and 
worthless as the carcases of beasts. Therefore 



HELPS BY THE WAY. 49 

David says, * Let my prayer be set forth as 
incense ; and the lifting up of my hands as the 
evening sacrifice.* " Hsa/m cxli. 2. 

The man spoken of at page 22, the man who 
had fallen into a pit, would not require learn- 
ing to enable him to ask for help. The feel- 
ing of his danger, and of his wants, would put 
words into his mouth, and make him earnest in 
his cries. And so, if you have a pressing 
sense of your need, you will and must pray. 
Depend upon it, dear friend, you cannot love 
God, and become really acquainted with Him, 
without often speaking to Him ; neither can 
you overcome the many difficulties of your 
Christian course without His help ; you cannot 
win heaven without it. 

How is it that we sometimes see a Christian 
growing in the knowledge and love of God ; 
making rapid strides towards heaven ; meek, 
and gentle, and Christ-like in his conduct ; 
walking humbly and closely with his God ; 
and recommending religion to others by his 
holy and happy life? And we see another full 
of talk and profession ; but harsh and unloving 
in his spirit ; with a great deal of knowledge, 
and quick in detecting the wrong in others ; 
but unwatchful and inconsistent in his own 
walk. He makes no progress in the path of 
holiness. There is no real growth in grace ; 
but his state to-day is much what it was a year 
ago. 

4 



50 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

How is this? What makes the difference 
between these two men ? They are both, per* 
haps, trusting to Christ alone to save them; 
they both love to come to God's house; they 
both choose God's people as their companions ; 
they both pass for religious men. What can 
be the reason, then, that the one is so true and 
bright a Christian, and that the other is so 
much otherwise? It is that the one is a man 
of prayer ; the other is neglectful of it. The 
one lives to God, and holds daily and hourly 
intercourse with Him ; the other knows of 
Him, but lives at a distance from Him. 

What unspeakable strength will prayer bring 
to you ! Utterly weak in yourself, you will 
thus become *' strong in the Lord, and in the 
power of his might." ''A man of prayer,*' 
says one who is now with God, ** is a man of 
power. A praying soul is a thriving soul. 
Our great adversary, the devil, is aware of this ; 
he knows full well the secret of our strength. 
Hence the closet is the Christian's battle-field. 
There he conquers. Satan aims at this fortress. 
He triumphs when he has succeeded in baffling 
prayer; but he * trembles when he sees the 
weakest saint upon his knees.' " 

Make it your practice never to rise in the 
morning without kneeling down, and engaging, 
at least for a few minutes, in heartfelt prayer. 
And never think of going to rest at night with- 
out doing the same. 



HELPS BY THE WAY, 51 

I put in the words ^' kneeling down/' because 
I know that some have the bad habit of 
saying their prayers in bed. But surely this 
does not look like drawing near to a great and 
holy God ; this is not the posture in which a 
sinner should approach Him. I trust"* that a 
mere hint on this point will be sufficient. 

But prayer twice a day will not satisfy an 
earnest soul. The Christian, who is seeking 
heaven with all his heart, needs to put himself 
oftener in his Father's presence. He feels that, 
between morning and evening, the gap is too 
wide. Hear what David's resolution was — 
'^Evening, and fnornmg, and at nooUy will I 
pray, and cry aloud ; and He shall hear my 
voice." Such, too, was Daniel's habit — ^' He 
kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and 
prayed, and gave thanks before God." Pos- 
sibly you may be so placed, that it may be 
exceedingly difficult for you to practise such a 
habit. But make an effort to do so if you can ; 
and yoii will, indeed, reap a blessing from it. 
Whether you are in your house, or in the fields, 
get alone, if possible, for a few minutes, and 
pour out a word or two of secret prayer to Him, 
who is watching over you with a Father's love, 
and is ever ready to meet you with a Father's 
blessing. 

But the Bible bids us '^Pray without ceas- 
ing." I Thess, V. 17. This means that we 
should always be in a prayerful frame : not 



52 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

always upon our knees ; but always waiting upon 
God, and constantly looking up to Him for 
grace, guidance and protection. 

I was once asked by a sick person, if it was 
necessary to pray with a loud voice, to show 
our earnestness. Surely not. A child of God 
may offer up an acceptable prayer, though he 
may not be able to speak a word. As in Han- 
nah's case, there may be no utterance, and yet 
we may pray inwardly, i Sam. i. 13. *' Prayer 
(says an old writer) is the soul's desire, which 
God may hear, though it be not expressed in 
words, for He knows the heart. *Lord, thou 
hast heard the desire of the humble,' says 
David. A Christian's desire is a real prayer; 
and words are but the outward clothing of it." 

The habit of lifting up our hearts to God 
often during the day is very beneficial, whether 
this is done silently with our hearts only, or 
whether we give actual utterance with our lips. 
Our prayers on these occasions may be short, 
but God will hear them. Are we, for instance, 
plunged into some sudden and unexpected 
danger? we may pray, like the disciples, 
*^Lord, save me; I perish." Matt, viii. 25. 
Are we in any difficulty ? we may act like 
good Neheraiah, who, when spoken to by his 
sovereign, lifted up his heart to God for direc- 
tion as to the answer he should give. Neh. ii. 
4. Or do we at any moment specially feel 
our weakness? we may use David's words, 



HELPS BY THE WAY, 53 

^^Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe." 
Ps. cxix. 117. Or are we oppressed with an 
overpowering feeling of our guilt? the Pub- 
lican's prayer will suit us; *' God be merciful 
to me a sinner.'* Luke xviii. 13. This kind 
of prayer is called '' ejaculatory prayer. ^^ And 
I am sure you will find that the habit of thus 
darting up short petitions frequently during the 
day will bring a great blessing with it. It 
will relieve the soul of its burden. It will call 
down help when you most need it. It will 
bring God to your side. It will keep up a con- 
stant intercourse between you and your Lord. 
It will make this world a little heaven. It will 
enable you to pass over its rough waves with 
calmness and safety. But remember this, that 
^* if the arrow of prayer is to enter heaven, it 
must be drawn from a heart fully bent." 

Again, it is important that you should learn 
to bring every want you have and every little 
difficulty that perplexes you, before your 
heavenly Father. Hear the direction which 
St. Paul gives us on this point : ^* Be careful 
for nothing," he says, *' but in everything by 
prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let 
your requests be made known unto God." 
Phil. iv. 6. No want can be too great to 
bring to Him, and no want too small to keep 
back from Him. A person was once asked by 
a learned infidel, '' How great is your God? " 
She beautifully replied, *^He is so great that 



54 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him, 
and yet so small, that He will condescend to 
dwell in my heart." Of God it may be said, 
that there is nothing too great for Him to per- 
form, and nothing too small for Him to notice. 
We know that, whilst He made the stars, and 
guides them in their courses, He shapes the 
little dew-drop, and marks even a sparrow's 
fall. It has been said, ^* If our cares are too 
trifling to be carried to God, they are too 
trifling to be cares at all.'" Look upon Him 
then as your loving Father ; and be often run- 
ning to Him to tell Him all that concerns you, 
and to beg Him to guide, direct, strengthen, 
and help you. This is living a life of prayer. 
This is the way to know God, to walk with 
Him, to live upon Him. 

Do you not sometimes feel, *' Oh, that I had 
a friend, into whose ear I could pour out all my 
wants, who would feel for me, and wisely counsel 
me in my various difficulties ! " I have shown 
you that you have just such an one — a loving, 
tender, wise, powerful Friend, who is ever near 
you, and who is always ready to hearken to 
you. 

No human voice may cheer thee, 
No earthly listener hear thee ; 
But, oh, one Friend is near thee. 

The kindest and the best; 
"Whose smile can banish sadness, 
Whose presence fills with gladness 

The solitary breast. 



HELPS BY THE WAY, 55 

And has it not often happened, that you have 
been in great difficulty how to act in some 
particular case? Your course is not plain. 
Your way is not open. Each side seems 
equally balanced, and you cannot tell which to 
choose. Your wishes, perhaps, point one way, 
and your fears another. You are afraid lest 
you should decide wrongly ; lest you should 
take what may in the end prove hurtful to you, 
and turn out to be poison ; lest the blossoming 
rod should change into a serpent. It is very 
trying to be brought into this painful conflict. 
And it adds to our distress, if we are forced to 
go forward at once, and take one course or the 
other. 

Shall I tell you what to do in such a case? 
Shall I tell you how you may be sure to find 
unspeakable relief? Go and lay the matter 
before the Lord, as Hezekiah did with the King 
of Assyria's letter. Isa. xxxvii. 14. Do not, 
however, deceive yourself, as many do, and 
seek counsel of God, having already deter- 
mined to act according to your own will, and 
not according to His, But simply and hon- 
estly ask that He would guide you. Commit 
the case to your Father in heaven ; and sur- 
render yourself, as a little child, to be led as 
He pleases. This is the way to be guided 
aright, and to realize the blessing of having a 
heavenly Counsellor. 



56 THE PA THWA V OF SAFE TV. 

In connection with prayer, it is no small 
encouragement to know and feel, that we have 
an Almighty Pleader, an Advocate, an Inter- 
cessor, speaking for us to our heavenly Father. 
When you pray, Jesus prays for you. When 
your poor lisping words go up to heaven, your 
petitions pass, as it were, through His hands, 
and are accepted for His sake. ** He ever 
liveth to make intercession for you;'* and 
*' Whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father, m His 
name^ He will give it you." Heb, vii. 25 ; 
John XV. 16. 

But are we not told that the Holy Spirit 
intercedes for us also? What then is the differ- 
ence between His intercession and Christ's? 
There is this difference — Jesus intercedes for us 
in heaven : the Holy Spirit intercedes for us 
within our own hearts. Jesus pleads our cause 
in the courts above : the Spirit makes us feel our 
wants, and fills us with right desires, and thus 
puts fortli his earnest pleadings within our 
souls. 

Perhaps you have found that it is a hard thing 
to pray aright. It is easy to talk about prayer 
— easy to recommend it to others — but most 
difficult to set about it ourselves. I know of 
nothing which more painfully shows us our 
infirmity than this, or makes us feel more keenly 
that we want a helper. Our faith is weak, and 
we need to have it strengthened. We need to 
be taught how to pray. Now, this is what the 



HELPS BY THE WAY. 57 

Holy Spirit does, by his heavenly influence in 
our souls. Hear what the apostle says, ** Like- 
wise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities ; for 
we know not what we should pray for as we 
ought ; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession 
for us with groanings which cannot be uttered/' 
Rom, viii. 26. Entreat the Holy Spirit to do 
this for you. Beg of Him, again and again, to 
shov/ you your wants, to give you grace to draw 
near to God in a right frame, and to enable you 
to seek only for right things. 

And here the question may be asked, *^ Is it 
right for a Christian to pray for temporal bless- 
ings?'' Surely it is, if only we ask for them 
in submission to God" s will. Our Lord, in the 
prayer which He has taught us, has shown us 
that this is lawful ; for He would have us ask 
for **our daily bread." Do we, for instance, 
pray for health ? we should at the same time 
express our willingness to receive sickness, if 
God sees fit to send it. Or, if we ask that our 
worldly undertakings may prosper, we should 
put it in some such way as this — '' Give me, O 
Lord, success, if\\. be for my good, and for Thy 
glory." Ask almost what you will, with this 
proviso, and you will not be likely to ask 
amiss. 

Another question too may possibly have 
perplexed you a little — *' Is it best to use 
extempore prayer, or a form?" Y ox public 
prayer there is great advantage in a form ; for 



58 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

thus all are aware beforehand what petitions 
they are about to offer. But in private devo- 
tion it may well be left to the feeling and judg- 
ment of individual Christians. We should 
approach our heavenly Father in the simplest 
way and in a childlike spirit. We should tell 
out all our wants to Him, and divulge the hid- 
den secrets of our hearts. Now, many feel that 
this can best be done in their own words. For 
since no one can repent for another, or believe 
for another, or know his exact feelings, so no 
one can supply him with just the words that are 
suitable to his particular case. Each one has 
his own special business to transact with God, 
and no one else can do it for him. But others, 
again, have experienced so much difficulty in 
utterance, and so strong a temptation to wander 
in prayer, that they have found it more profit- 
able to use the words of other men, which, 
a general way, at least, express their own 
wants and desires. In either case, we must try 
and specify every sin for which we need pardon 
— such as our own unbelief and hardness of 
heart ; our want of love to Christ and His 
people ; our uncurbed passions ; our unsubdued 
will ; the lustfulness of our thoughts ; our hasti- 
ness of spirit ; the many sins of tongue ; the 
greediness of our appetite ; the peevishness of 
our temper ; our dulness and weariness in the 
things of God ; our want of charity^ our 
evil surmisings, and our evil reportings ; and a 



HELPS BY THE WAY, 59 

hundred other sins which, alas ! beset us day by 
day. We should mention also each particular 
want that we desire to have relieved. And 
remember, that that prayer only is acceptable to 
God, which comes direct from the heart, and is 
offered up in the name of Jesus Christ, the 
great Intercessor. 

I ought perhaps to say a word or two here 
about answers to our prayers, God's people 
sometimes pray for spiritual blessings, and then 
they are disappointed if they are not bestowed. 
They are almost tempted to think that God has 
not heard them. But we should never forget, 
that prayer from the heart is always heard ; and 
if the answer is delayed, there is some good 
reason for it. It is either to humble us more, 
or to make us value what we ask for, or to try 
our faith. 

Then, too, we should bear in mind that our 
prayers are often answered, but the answer is 
overlooked, because it does not come just as we 
would have it come. *^An answer to prayer,'^ 
says a quaint old writer, ''does not always 
come in the way we expect it. We look for it 
at the fore door, and it comes in at the back 
door; and while we are still expecting the 
friend we looked for, he is in the house.'' The 
mercy we desired is received ; only it comes in 
a way we thought not of, and consequently we 
are apt to overlook it. Therefore, take heed 
of confining God to your way or limiting Him 



6o THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

to your time. His ways are not our ways. 
You ask, perhaps, for grace to become more 
holy \ and God sends you affliction. Here your 
petition is granted, but not in the way that you 
looked for. You ask again for the removal of 
some trial ; but, instead of taking it away, God 
deals with you as He did with St. Paul, He 
gives you — what is equally good for you — 
grace to bear the trial. But I must not en- 
large upon this. 

There is one delightful exercise connected 
with prayer, which I cannot omit to notice ; 
namely. Thanksgiving. It may almost be called 
a part of prayer. This is the apostle's direc- 
tion, *'In everything by prayer and suppli- 
cation, with thanksgiving, let your requests 
be made known unto God." Fhil. iv. 6. 
Praise is far the happiest and pleasantest part of 
our devotions. No one knew its sweetness 
better than David. It is remarkable that, out 
of the one hundred and fifty Psalms, no less 
than sixty-six are Psalms oi praise. The last 
five begin and end with the words, *^ Praise ye 
the Lord." 

It is sad to think how much more ready we 
are to sue for blessings, than to express our 
thankfulness when the boon is granted. We 
receive the gift, but forget to thank the great 
and gracious Giver. In the time of trouble^ we 
go and seek God with some degree of earnest- 



HELPS BY THE WAY, 6r 

ness ; but when His heavy hand is taken off us, 
and the light of His countenance shines once 
more upon us, then we forget to praise Him. 
Alas ! may it not be said of us, as it was of 
Israel, ''In their affliction they will seek me 
early *^ ! Hos. v. 15. And yet how much it 
becomes the children of God to be thankful ! 
What ! shall He show us daily tokens of his 
love ? shall He strew our path with blessings ? 
shall He withhold no good thing from us, not 
even the gift of His Son? and have we no 
words of thankfulness to utter His praise? 
Like the nine Lepers, shall we receive benefits 
at the hands of Christ, and then return not to 
give glory to God ? 

If your conscience tells you that you have 
been wanting in the work oi praise, tune up 
your heart anew for this most sweet and pleasant 
duty. Try and thank God daily for some one 
thing at least. Get into the way of daily 
''counting up your mercies.'' The very habit 
will conduce not a little to your happiness. 
You will be honoring God. And you will be 
already entering upon that which will be your 
blessed occupation in heaven. 

Reader, I would earnestly counsel you to 
make a firm stand in the duty of secret prayer. 
Let nothing tempt you ever to neglect it. 
Never put it by for something else. Never 
hurry it over, and shorten it, as though you felt 



62 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

that any one thing could be more important 
than the season of communion with God. It 
is of all seasons the most precious. **From 
the few hours we spend in prayer," says Bishop 
Taylor, " the return is great and profitable ; 
and what we sow in the minutes and spare 
portions of a few years, grows up to crowns and 
sceptres in a happy and glorious eternity." 

May you *' pray in the Spirit ! " May you 
feel prayer to be more and more delightful to 
you ! May He who has an ear to hear, ever 
give you a heart to pray ! And may yours 
indeed be accepted prayer ! 



CHAPTER V. 

HELPS BY THE WAY. 
THE BIBLE. 

The Word of God is the Christian's daily 
nourishment. And if he has, indeed, been 
*'born again of the Spirit,'' he will 'Mesire 
the sincere milk of the word, that he may grow 
thereby." i Pet, ii. 2. The ''natural man" 
has no appetite for this heavenly food ; but it is 
sure to spring up in that heart which is renewed 
by the grace of God. 

The Bible is God's book, written by men 
who '' spake as they were moved by the Holy 
Ghost." Receive that book, then, '* not as 
the word of jnen^ but as it is, in truth, the word 
of Gody I Thess. ii. 13. Yes, that book, 
which, perhaps, you have so often carelessly 
read — that book which you have often looked 
upon as little more than a task-book — 
that book is the Word of God. It contains 
all that an inquirer after religious truth 
need know. Here are ''the words of 
eternal life." Here is spiritual food, that 
can feed, bless, and save you. The Bible 

(63) 



64 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

is the Guide-post, as it were, to lead poor 
wanderers to heaven, to point out the way to 
that *^ better country" before them. It is the 
Compass, which shows us, as we pass over the 
troubled waves of life, how we may reach the 
wished-for haven. It is the Medicine-chest, 
which contains the only remedy that can cure 
a diseased soul. It makes known God's will to 
man. In prayer we speak, as it were, to Him ; 
but here, in the Bible, He speaks to us. 

What a blessing it is, that God has given us a 
book, which lays open to us His will concerning 
us ! Here is something genuine and substantial 
to depend upon. We can go to our Bibles, and 
read — '* Thus saith the Lord ; " — '' It is writ- 
ten." There are no perhapses in this holy 
volume : it speaks to us with authority. 

No doubt, you have often heard that, in damp 
and marshy places, it is not uncommon, in the 
night, to observe a certain bright appearance in 
the air, which has sometimes been mistaken for 
a lantern, or the light from a house. Many a 
lonely traveller, who has lost his way, has seen 
this light in the distance. A momentary feel- 
ing of joy has come across him : for he has 
thought within himself, '* Surely there is some 
welcome habitation there, in which I may find 
a shelter." He has followed the light, but 
only to get farther from the right road. It has 
led him into fresh danger, till at last he dis- 



HELPS BY THE WAY, 65 

covers that he has been following a mere vapor, 
which deceived him. 

And is it not thus that Satan sometimes 
endeavors to mislead us? He tempts us to 
follow other lights than the true one. He is 
ever trying to draw us into the wrong road, and 
then he leaves us in our misery. But, happily, 
God has given us a sure guide, if we will only 
follow it. ^^Thy word," says David, ^*is a 
lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." 
Ps. cxix. 105. 

Before we go any further, I would advise you 
to ask God's pardon for all your heedless, 
profitless reading of his Word. Ask Him to 
forgive you the great sin of an unheeded Bible. 
And now, make up your mind to take this Word 
as your companion, and the guide of all your 
steps, as you journey on to heaven. I have 
spoken, in the third chapter, about hearing the 
Gospel ; but I now want to urge you to the 
careful and devout reading of holy Scripture. 

I. Read your Bible daily — yes, daily. I 
have sometimes found persons, who have been 
awakened, somewhat backward in this work. 
They will walk miles to hear a sermon, perhaps. 
Anything that is a little exciting seems to fall 
in with their taste. And, meanwhile, they 
neglect the calm, quiet and most blessed occu- 
pation of searching into the Word of Life, as 
those who are looking for a hid treasure. 
5 



66 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

Oh ! beware of this evil which so many fall 
into — even religious persons. Take your empty 
pitcher, day by day, to this well-spring of life ; 
and, though you may only seem to get a drop 
now and then, God will be daily filling you out 
of His fulness. Never let a single day pass 
without reading some portion of Scripture. 
Your body needs daily food, and so does your 
soul. Both will suffer without it. You 
may be pressed for time; you may have 
scarcely a spare moment that you can call your 
own. I am aware how busily occupied you 
sometimes are. Still I would urge upon you 
the importance of having, if possible, a fixed 
time in every day for feeding upon this heavenly 
manna. Read a verse or two only, if you have 
not time for more. I have known poor men 
and women, who never miss this their daily 
meal. I have known men of business in Lon- 
don, who, though pressed with work, set apart 
a fixed time in every day for this sacred pur- 
pose. And w^e have all read of a certain King, 
who had all the affairs of a great nation upon 
his hands, but who could still say,. '* Oh, how I 
love thy law : it is ray meditation all the day ; " 
*^thy testimonies are my delight and my coun- 
sellors." Ps, cxix. 24, 97. Go, and do thou 
likewise. 

2. Let your Scripture reading be a solemn 
work. Some read the Bible with a lightness, 



HELPS BY THE WAY. 67 

which shows that they can hardly feel its 
immense value. Now, I would particularly 
advise you never to take it up carelessly ; 
and not to be content with reading it just at 
odd times^ when you have nothing else to do, 
and when you happen to have a few spare 
moments. This sort of reading is not only 
unprofitable, but sometimes actually hurtful. 
Learn to approach the holy volume with a feel- 
ing of reverence and godly fear ; and treat it 
as something too precious to be trifled with. 

3. Study the Bible with prayer. You may 
read page after page, but it will be to little 
profit, unless you get a blessing from above. 
How would it be with a blind man ? Let a 
book of any kind be placed before him. He 
might open it, and turn over its pages ; but all 
would be in vain : he would get nothing from 
it. And you are blind — not so blind as you 
once were — but still you only see dimly. And, 
unless God says, ** Let there be light," there 
will be none. He must shine upon the Word, 
and open your heart to receive it. 

Whenever you read your Bible, then, pray 
earnestly for God's teaching. Pray that the 
Holy Spirit may be given to you, to ^' guide 
you into all truth." John ^n\. 13. Ask God 
to prepare you to give a cordial welcome to 
His truth; and so to break up the soil, that 
when you read the word your Heart may be 



68 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

like an open furrow, ready to receive into it 
the precious seed. And then, I am sure, you 
will find your soul warmed and blest ; and the 
light will grow stronger and stronger within you. 

4. Read the Bible in a teachable and obedient 
spirit, as a little child, feeling your ignorance. 
Say to yourself, when you open the book, 
**Now I am going to learn something ; now I 
am going to draw water from the wells of sal- 
vation." Whatever God's word teaches, re- 
ceive it as from Him. 

Our reading and our hearing should produce 
some fi'uit in us : it should lead to some good 
result. What is the use of our knowing more 
about holiness, for instance, unless we become 
holier persons — of learning that this is right, 
and that is wrong, unless we set ourselves 
earnestly to follow the one, and avoid the 
other — of becoming better acquainted with 
the history of our Lord, and of his people, 
unless we forthwith endeavor to be like them, 
and to walk as they walked ? He who reads 
only for reading's sake, and without practising 
what he learns to be God's will, is a mere 
speculator in religion. But, on the other 
hand, if, the moment you discover a truth, 
you immediately set yourself to act upon it, 
then you will have more grace given you to 
make further advances in the knowledge of 
God. *^ If any man will do his will, he shall 



HELPS BY THE WAY, 69 

know of the doctrine.'* John vii. 17. The 
Psalmist speaks of this as the great secret of 
his growing in knowledge, — ''I understand 
more than the ancients, because I keep thy 
precepts/* Ps. cxix. 100. 

Whatever, then, you see commanded in 
God*s word, go and do it. Do not wait till 
your conscience grows slack again ; but act 
at once, whilst the feeling of what is right is 
strong within you. Whatever is written in 
the Bible, whether it be pleasant or not, look 
upon it as something that is to be obeyed, 

5. Read the Bible in order ; not a chapter 
in one part to-day, and in another part to- 
morrow; but read through one book of the 
Bible, before you begin another. In this way 
you will be much more likely to get the mean- 
ing of God's word, and to profit by it. If you 
received a letter from a friend, you would 
gather but little from it by pitching upon a 
passage here, or a sentence there. Surely you 
would read the letter through, if you wished to 
get a clear view of what it contained. Now, 
each book of the Bible is like a separate 
letter; and, therefore, instead of taking a 
chapter at random, you will do well to choose 
a gospel, or an epistle, or any other part, and 
go regularly through it, before you begin 
another. This you will find the best way of 
reading Scripture so as to understand it. 



70 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

I would not advise you, however, to read a 
great deal at once. A little, well studied and 
prayed over, will be as good for your soul as a 
larger quantity. Sometimes, only a very few 
verses, thoroughly weighed, will afford the 
sweetest nourishment to the soul, and will 
teach you more than whole chapters carelessly 
read. 

6. Have some settled plan for your Scripture 
reading. Read it methodically. There should 
be a plan and method in all we do ; and in 
nothing is this more necessary than in our 
Bible studies. It is quite possible for a man to 
be a great reader of God's word, and yet to 
know but little of its contents. He may get 
nothing more than a smattering of Scripture. 
He may fill his memory with Bible phrases 
and expressions. He may lay hold of certain 
favorite doctrines, and on these he may dwell 
with delight and even with profit. But, after 
all, this fitful, desultory kind of reading will 
give him but a very imperfect knowledge of 
God's truth — of His truth as a whole. 

Now, let me try and assist you in forming a 
plan. I will suppose that you feel your Scrip- 
ture reading to have been hitherto very unsatis- 
factory, and that you are now really desirous 
to make it more profitable. I will take it for 
granted that you can, by a little effort, find 
time for two readings during each day. 



HELPS BY THE WAY. 71 

I would recommend you then to take, in 
the morning, some part of the Old Testament. 
And let your first act be to lift up your heart 
to God for His teaching. You might use some 
such short prayer as this : — *' Give me, O Lord, 
thy Holy Spirit to enlighten my blindness. 
Teach me out of thine own word, and write 
thy truth in my heart, for Jesus Christ's sake." 

Then open your Bible with the feeling that 
there is some holy lesson to be learnt from it, 
some truth to be found which shall give fresh 
light to your soul. You are beginning, per- 
haps, the Book of Genesis, or Proverbs, or 
Isaiah. It is well first to consider what sort of 
a book it is you are going to study. Is it the 
history of the Lord's dealings with His people 
of old ? Then try and cull from it something 
to warn you, or to encourage you. Does it 
contain precepts for your guidance? Feel that 
every word is for you ; and make a resolution 
that what you read shall, by God's grace, 
influence your conduct. Or is it a prophecy ? 
Then expect to meet with something dark and 
difficult, and much to call out your faith. Do 
not read a great deal ; but what you do read, 
read well and thoughtfully. 

In the eveningj again, you may be able to 
set apart a little time for this blessed study; and 
then it may be well to read a portion of the 
New Testament. But let it be a fixed and 
regular portion. If you are going through one 



72 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

of the Gospels, remember that you are reading 
what the Son of God himself did and said. 
Study His spotless and holy character, and 
make it your pattern. And when you think 
of all that He endured — the coldness, the ill- 
treatment, the unbelief, the contempt, the con- 
tradiction of sinners, the untold agonies that 
He met with — bear in mind that all this was 
for you, and in order that He might be the 
great Sin-bearer, and Sorrow-bearer, of a fallen 
world. Or, if you read the Acts of the Apos- 
tles, you will find it very good for you to trace 
the course of those early followers of Christ, 
who counted not their lives dear unto them- 
selves, so that they might bear the Saviour^s 
cross after Him here, and wear His crown 
hereafter. Or, if you are reading one of the 
Epistles, consider the circumstances under 
which the particular Epistle, or Letter, was 
sent ; by whom it was written ; and to what 
body of Christians, or to what person among 
them, it was addressed ; and endeavor to look 
upon each verse as though it contained a mes- 
sage from God to your own soul. 

As to the quantity we should read, it must de- 
pend much on the time we have, the state of 
our mind, our wants, &c. Some Christians 
find it very beneficial, now and then, to take 
a short passage, and to break it up, as it were, 
so as so examine every expression and every 
word separately; and thus endeavor to extract 



HELPS BY THE WAY, 73 

from it all the sweetness that it contains. Some, 
too, have found a great advantage from the 
habit of stopping occasionally, and turning 
Scripture into prayer, thus making it a devo- 
tional exercise. 

In any case, the fault of most readers of 
Scripture is that they do not sufficiently medi- 
tate upon it, and turn it over in their minds, 
and digest it as they do the food that nourishes 
their bodies. When they have read a chapter 
or two, they are apt to look upon it as a thing 
doney and the subject they have been dwelling 
upon is allowed altogether to pass away from 
their minds '* as a tale that is told." 

Never read for the sake of feeling afterward 
that you have accomplished a task. For what 
will it profit you to have run over with your eye 
a certain number of verses, if, like the butterfly 
which flits from flower to flower, you have 
scarcely gathered any nourishment ? Be rather 
like the bee, which rests a while, and draws out 
the sweetness which lies deep within. 

Read Scripture thus thoughtfully, prayerfully, 
and methodically ; and sure I am that God will 
make it a blessed study to you. It was said of 
ApoUos that he was *' mighty in the Scriptures. *' 
May the same be said of you ! Try to become so. 
If you do indeed love your Bible, thank God for 
it. If not, ask Him to make you love it. And 
rest not, until you can feel something of David's 
experience when he said, ** How sweet are thy 



74 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

words unto my taste ! Yea, sweeter than honey 
to my mouth ! They are the rejoicing of my 
heart!'' Ps, cxix. 103, iii. 

Note. — The Scriptures, to be profitably read, should 
be studied with a commentary. The Editor would sug- 
gest Scott's Commentary, and Burkitt's Notes on the 
New Testament. 



CHAPTER VI. 

HELPS BY THE WAY. 



RELIGIOUS BOOKS — RELIGIOUS INTERCOURSE — MEDITA- 
TION — COMMUNION WITH GOD — SELF-EXAMINATION. 



I. RELIGIOUS BOOKS. 

The Bible is not the only book the Christian 
has to help him on his way. It is the Great 
Book — the Book of books — the only book that 
can be called The Book of God — the only book 
which speaks with full authority, and against 
which there is no appeal. Still, there are 
other books, which may help you on your way 
heavenward. And never was there a time, 
when so many of these helps were placed with- 
in our reach. There are books suited to every 
stage of the believer's experience. This very 
book which you are now reading is, I hope, 
one of them. I have tried to suit it to your 
case, my dear reader. May there be, here and 
there, a remark in it likely to assist you in your 
great spiritual enterprise ! 

As the Bible is like God' s own voice speaking 
to us, so good books are Vikt pious friends con- 

(75) 



76 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

versing with us. They contain many hints, 
and point out to us many dangers, and give us 
many encouragements. Be thankful, then, 
when any really good book comes into your 
possession, or is lent to you for a time. Read it 
carefully and thoughtfully, and perhaps you 
may gain from it some profitable knowledge. 

If you have leisure, allot some portion of 
time in each day to this kind of reading. Do 
not allow yourself to get into the habit of 
taking up any book which may chance to fall 
in your way. Such study will do you no good; 
it will only waste your time. But read some- 
thing that is really likely to strengthen your 
mind, warm your heart, and give you clearer 
and sounder views of God's truth. It will be 
well to ask your minister, or some wise and 
godly friend, to counsel you as to what books 
you should read. 

But in taking up any religious book, remem- 
ber it is only man! s work. There may be a 
great deal of good in a book, and yet some 
wrong things in it. The writer may ear- 
nestly desire to lead you right ; and yet he 
may possibly be mistaken on some points him- 
self. Try, then, and cull out what is good 
from the book you are reading, and reject what 
is wrong in it. In the Bible all is pure gold ; 
but in other books, even the best of them, 
there is a mixture of dross with the precious 
metal. 



HELPS BY THE WAY. 77 

For instance, a book is lent to you, which 
contains some very useful advice, and you read 
it with much benefit to your soul. But perhaps 
you come to a passage, which contains a dif- 
ferent view of some particular doctrine from 
that which you have learnt from the word of 
God. Now, are you to embrace at once this 
new view, merely because you find it in a 
printed book? Certainly not. You would be 
wrong in allowing your mind to be so easily 
warped. 

Or again, perhaps a book may fall into your 
hands, written by some one who is not a mem- 
ber of the Episcopal Church. There may be 
much true piety in it, and much that is 
likely to raise your heart upwards. But as you 
read on, you are suddenly startled by some 
strong expressions against your Church. The 
rest of the book may have seemed so true and so 
sound, that you maybe half disposed to be led 
away by the arguments that are used. But 
bear this in mind — they are merely the words 
of a man, and there you will find dross mixed 
with the gold. The writer may be a good 
man, and yet liable to be mistaken on some 
points ; for even those among us, who have the 
clearest sight, **only see through a glass 
darkly,'* — they only *^ know in part." i Cor, 
xiii. 12. Weigh well, then, what you read. 
And take care, lest a few well-written sentences 
throw you off your balance, and move you away 



78 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

from the safe ground on which you are stand- 
ing. 

Above all, let no book, however excellent, 
take the place of the Book of books, Man's 
words must not be valued like God's word. 
What are common stones in comparison to 
rubies? *^What is the chaff to the wheat?" 
A religious book, or tract, may very likely put 
many things before us in a plainer way than the 
Bible does. But it is a dangerous sign when a 
person allows these to become his chief study, 
whilst God's word is laid aside. It was said 
of Henry Martyn — '' So deep was his venera- 
tion for the word of God, that when a suspicion 
arose in his mind, that any other book he 
might be studying was about to gain an undue 
influence over his affections, he instantly laid 
it aside; nor would he resume it, till he had 
felt and realized the paramount excellence of 
God's word. He could not rest satisfied till 
all those lesser lights, that were beginning to 
dazzle him, had disappeared before the bright- 
ness and glory of the Scriptures." 

And now, I am going to mention another 
staff of a similar kind, from which you may 
derive some help ; but you must not lean upon it 
too constantly. I mean 

II. INTERCOURSE WITH RELIGIOUS FRIENDS. 

A person, when first led to think seriously, 



HELPS BY THE WAY. 79 

feels himself to be in a new world ; and often- 
times he seems to stand alone, and longs for 
some Christian friend to help him. I have 
already shown you to whom you should flee 
for advice. It is to your clergyman especially 
you should ever turn for spiritual counsel and 
comfort. But besides your minister, a Christian 
. friend or two will be of great use to you. If, 
then, you are acquainted with any earnest per- 
sons in your parish — among the communicants, 
for instance — try and get a word with them, 
and choose such for your closest companions. 
You may find them of the greatest assistance 
to you, just as Aquila and Priscilla were 
to ApoUos. Acts xviii. 26. Their Christian 
counsel, their example, their faith, will cheer 
and encourage you ; for as '' iron sharpeneth 
iron, so sharpeneth a man the countenance of 
his friend.*' Frov. xxvii. 17. 

In speaking to others of God's dealings with 
us, there is something that warms the heart. 
And such Christian converse is pleasing to God. 
^^They that feared the Lord," says Malachi, 
''spake often one to another: an^ the Lord 
hearkened and heard it, and a book of remem- 
brance was written before him for theni that 
feared the Lord, and that thought upon His 
name. And they shall be mine, saith the 
Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my 
jewels." MaL iii. 16, 17. 

It is a great, happiness to enjoy the friend- 



So THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

ship of one or two really religious persons. As 
you tell them of the various wants, and difficul- 
ties, and doubts, and trials, which have at 
times almost weighed you down, perhaps you 
will be consoled and encouraged, by finding 
that they too have passed through the very same 
rugged ways in their Christian journey. Many 
a newly, awakened Christian feels as though no 
one could have experienced the same religious 
difficulties and temptations as himself, until he 
unbosoms his heart to his spiritual teacher, or 
to some Christian brother ; and then he learns 
to his comfort that his own case is far from 
being a solitary one. 

Again, a really faithful and religious friend 
may be of much use in the way of pointing out 
to you your faults — faults, perhaps, which you 
would not of yourself discover. '^Two are 
better than one," says Solomon ; and if you are 
both travelling on the same blessed road, you 
may thus give one another much seasonable 
help by the way. He may assist you, too, in 
the understanding of many things, which alone 
you could, not see clearly. He may not be a 
learned, person, and may need to be taught 
himself: but still he may know much which 
you have no knowledge of. Or you may be 
able in your turn to impart to him something, 
which you have had an opportunity of learning. 
And so you may give each other a helping 
hand. 



HELPS BY THE WAY, 8i 

But if you are young in years, or young in 
grace, do not forget that your most proper 
place is that of a learner^ and not an instructor. 
It is true, you know more than you once knew; 
for light has showe in upon your soul. But 
Satan will perhaps now endeavor to make you 
think that you know all, and that you must 
forthwith begin to instruct others. Beware of 
falling into this snare. Many have done so 
to their cost. They have become proud and 
froward, when they ought to be modest and re- 
tiring. They want to lead others, even before 
they have learnt to walk themselves. They de- 
sire to be spiritual nurses, whilst they them- 
selves are but babes in Christ. Be content to 
receive instruction for a while. You need it ; 
for you have much, very much, to learn. Think 
more just now of carrying your empty pitcher 
to the well, than of pouring it out to refresh 
others. You have yet, I say, much to learn. 
You are at present like the man mentioned by 
St. Mark, (chap, viii.,) who, though cured of 
his blindness by the Saviour's touch, at first 
** looked up and said, I see men as trees, walk- 
ing.'* And if you as yet see only a little, 
do not fall into the error of thinking that you 
see all. Be backward and diffident in giving 
advice to others ; but be always anxious to 
receive it yourself — according to the apostle's 
counsel, ''Be swift to hear, slow to speak^ 
Tames i. lo. 
^ 6 



82 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

But there is another ^^help" that I would 
strongly advise you not to neglect, and that 
is — 

III. MEDITATION. 

Good and helpful as Christian converse is, 
we may become too fond of it, and rely upon 
it too much. Religious persons are apt to be 
too much with others, and not enough alone. 
I have observed this to be an error, into which 
many of God's people fall. It is very good 
for us now and then to get by ourselves, and 
think. A person who is always hearing and 
conversing, is like one who is forever eating, 
but never digests his food. And what is the 
consequence ? His health suffers and what he 
takes in does him little or no good. And so it 
is with our spiritual state. 

Get into the way, then, of meditatifig on 
God's word — of thinking over what you have 
heard or read. Or take some one particular 
subject, and ponder it well in your mind — 
«buch as the goodness of God, or the joys of 
heaven, or the love of Christ, or the perfectness 
of His character. You can do this when you 
ure at work, or walking along the road, or 
fitting in your house. You will find it a little 
difficult at first, for it is no easy matter to keep 
your thoughts within bounds ; but you will 
Jsoon acquire the habit if you persevere. 

There is another kind of meditation, too, 
vhich is very profitable — holding converse with 



HELPS BY THE WAY, Z^ 

our own hearts. David spoke of this, when 
he said, *^ Commune with your own heart, and 
be still; '^ and again, *'I commune with mine 
own heart ; and my spirit made diligent 
search.'' Fs, iv. 4; Ixxvii. 6. And whilst 
we are ^' thus musing," the fire will oftentimes 
burn; our hearts will glow; and our love, and 
faith, and thankfulness, will be increased. 

Holy men have always made meditation a 
part of their religious exercises ; and they em- 
braced the most favorable opportunities for this 
devout practice. Isaac went out into the field 
to meditate in the stillness of the evening. 
David sometimes selected the morning ; and at 
other times, when all was still around him, he 
chose the night; ** I remember thee upon my 
bedy and meditate on thee in the night 
watches." Ps. Ixiii. 6. 

IV. COMMUNION WITH GOD. 

This is another most delightful and profitable 
exercise for the Christian's soul. It is good 
for him to hold converse with God, to speak 
with Him as with a Friend, to walk with Him 
as Enoch did. It is this Communion with God 
that draws down constant blessings from above. 
A plant in your garden may be refreshed for 
a while by a sudden shower from the waterpot ; 
but it is the gentle dew from heaven, descend- 
ing morning after morning upon it, that will 
make it really thrive and grow. So it is with 



84 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

our souls : we must be daily putting ourselves 
in the Lord's presence, and receiving fresh 
supplies of grace out of His fulness, or there 
will be no real progress. 

Observe how constantly David and other 
holy men were engaged in this holy exercise. 
They were continually lifting up their souls to 
God. And if you follow their example, you 
also will succeed in this heavenly employment. 

v. SELF-EXAMINATION. 

'* Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the 
faith; prove your own selves,'* was the advice 
addressed by St. Paul to the Christians at 
Corinth. 2 Cor. xiii. 5. And this is a most 
important means of spiritual health and 
growth. 

When any one first begins to live a religious 
life, he may perhaps fancy that he is fully 
acquainted with his own heart. It seems to 
lie all open before him. But the more he 
looks into it, the more astonished he will be 
to find how little he as yet knows of it. Self- 
examination is therefore most necessary. For 
how can we become acquainted with our own 
state, unless we look closely into it? How 
can we discover our particular failings, our 
shortcomings, our secret transgressions, our 
heart-sins, unless we search after them ? With- 
out this, our prayers will be nothing more than 
general acknowledgments of guilt, and general 



HELPS BY THE WAY, 85 

petitions for pardon and grace. Nothing will 
be specified, because nothing will be known 
of our exact condition, or of our particular 
wants. 

It has been observed, that ^^a person, igno- 
rant of his own heart, is like a merchant who 
knows not the state of his accounts, while 
every day likely to become a bankrupt ; or 
like persons in a leaky ship, who are not aware 
of their danger. The professed follower of 
Christ, who knows not whether he is a true 
or false disciple, is in a condition no less dan- 
gerous." 

But you will find it no easy matter to lay 
bare your own heart. Far easier is it to detect 
and fix upon the faults of others, than to dis- 
cover and bring to light our own. Far easier 
is it to discern the little mote that is in thy 
brother's eye, than to pull out the huge beam 
from thine own, or even to feel that it is there. 
Some sins there are too in most of us, which 
lie so deeply embedded, that unless we follow 
them up, and drag them from their hiding- 
places, they will still hold their ground, and in 
the end overpower us. 

The heart, then, must be searched — searched 
to the very core. The deepest recesses of it 
must be sounded. Every one should know 
how things are going on in his soul ; what his 
dangers are ; and what are the temptations to 
which he is most exposed. When an army of 



86 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

soldiers is encamped, the general places senti- 
nels in all directions, whose duty it is to 
give notice of any attack threatened by the 
enemy, and to sound an alarm. Self-ex- 
amination is the Christian's sentinel. It 
watches to see how things are going on in the 
heart, and it gives notice of attacks from the 
great enemy, who is ever on the alert to assault 
us. 

You will find, as I have said, this exercise a 
little difficult at first. Your sluggish heart will 
rebel against it. *'It is no easy work to bring 
a man and his own heart together." But it 
will soon become less irksome. Only make 
trial of it, and I am sure you will find it to be 
no small help to you. Appoint some fixed 
time in every day, or in every week, for the 
catechising of your own heart, for unveiling it, 
and for bringing its hidden things to light. 

But you will, perhaps, say that there is a 
kind of self-examination always going on in 
the mind of a true Christian. Is he not con- 
stantly feeling sin within him, and questioning 
himself whether a thing be right or wrong? 
Yes ; but he wants something more. He needs 
regular stated seasons for bringing himself to 
trial; and without this, I believe, he will make 
little or no advance in the way of holiness. 

My advice to you then is, at once to begin 
the practice of self-examination. But, if your 
mind has been unused to the task, it is well 



HELPS BY THE WAY. 87 

not to overtax it at first. You had better begin 
by asking yourself only a few questions. Do 
not lay upon yourself too heavy a burden at 
starting, lest you grow weary, and give up what 
you have begun. It has been remarked that 
young believers are very much in the condition 
of persons recovering from illness, whose 
strength is little, and resolution weak. We 
would not, therefore, put too heavy a yoke 
upon them, in this or any other duty, but 
would have them get on by degrees, as they are 
able to bear it. And remember, it is written 
for our encouragement, that God ^^ despiseth 
not the day of small things." 

Of this I am certain, that self-examination, 
however toilsome, will amply repay you. It 
will make you watchful ; it will keep your lamp 
burning brightly ; it will make you alive to 
your weaknesses, and lead you to seek earnestly 
for grace to overcome them ; it will enable 
you, perhaps, to nip many a dangerous sin in 
the bud ; it will save you many a painful pang 
of conscience, and promote your peace. 
Above all, it will prepare you for the great 
judgment-day. Is it not far better, think you, 
to discover your besetting sins, one by one, 
now ; to mourn over them; to confess them to 
God ; and to lay them out before the cross ; 
than to go on in a state of blindness as to their 
very existence, and to have them brought 
against you at that day? '' It is better," says 



88 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

Bishop Taylor, ** to examine the conscience 
710W, while there is time for repentance and 
amendment, than to be suddenly awakened on 
a death-bed to the recollection of our sins, 
when it is too late to alter." Oh ! give your- 
self heartily to this work. Pray, ^' Search me, 

God, and know my heart, and see if there 
be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the 
way everlasting." Fsalm cxxxix. 23, 24. *^Let 
a man examine himself." i Cor. xi, 28. 

Does any reader say, ** I see plainly that this 
is my duty. But how am I to set about it? 
when shall I begin ? what course shall I fol- 
low ? " Let me endeavor to help you. 

First, if self-examination is a plain duty, 
there should be no delay in setting about it. 
Begin it now — to-day. 

Next, as to how often it is to be done. Some 
Christians think it right to examine their 
hearts daily. It was the maxim of a heathen 
philosopher, *' Let not thine eyes decline in 
pleasant sleep, until thou has recounted all the 
acts of the long day." Others prefer doing so 
once a week. If the latter, you might take 
Saturday or Sunday evening, as a suitable time 
for this exercise. But it is very important to 
have a fixed, stated time, or it will be poorly 
done. 

Then, as to how you are to examine yourself. 

1 would say, look deep into your heart, and 
trv to discover its actual state before God. Go 



HELPS BY THE WAY, 89 

carefully into your different actions, and feel- 
ings, and motives ; and weigh them well, so as 
to discover what has been right, and what has 
been wrong in you. Let nothing be hidden 
from yourself, or kept back from God. 

There are many little books which would 
help you greatly in the matter. But, in case 
you should not be able to obtain one of these, 
I will give you here some few general hints for 
your guidance. 

1. Examine yourself by the rule of God'* s 
wordy and not by man' s opinions. A thing 
may not be counted wrong by men, and yet 
God's word may condemn it. 

2. Look not merely into your actions, but 
inquire from what motive they are done. Is it, 
for instance, from a desire for man's praise ; or 
for worldly gain ; or for God's glory? 

3. Inquire closely if you have good grounds 
for believing that you are accepted in Christ, 
and therefore safe for eternity. 

4. If you are Christ's servant, are you bring- 
ing forth much fruit ? Are you daily growing 
and advancing in grace? 

5. Find out what is your besetting sin, as 
pride, lust, worldliness, evil temper, &c. Also, 
whether you earnestly desire to put it away, 
whatever it be. 

6. See if you are using self-denial, and ever 
keeping ^* the flesh subdued to the Spirit.'* 



90 777^ PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

7. Find out, not only the actual wrong that 
you have done, but also the good that you have 
left undone. 

8. Look carefully into every thought, word, 
and desire. 

9. See whether you are taking Christ for 
your example in all you do. 

10. Inquire into your conduct towards your 
relations, friends, neighbors, masters, ser- 
vants, &c. 

11. Find out what are your peculiar tempta- 
tions, and prayerfully guard against them. 

12. Examine yourself as to whether your 
Bible-reading and devotions are a delight to 
you, and whether they are regular and solemn, 
or hurried and trifling. 

13. Ask yourself if you are doing all you 
might do for the glory of God, and for the 
good of your fellow-men. 

Above all, ask God to help you in thus 
searching into your heart. Fsalm cxix. 59; 
cxxxix. 23, 24. 



In these three chapters, then, I have men- 
tioned some of the means, by which you may 
attain to that holiness *^ without which no 
man shall see the Lord.'* Use them with 
thankfulness ; and may they help you .much in 
running the race that is set before you ! 



CHAPTER VII. 

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP. 

Think not, O Christian, that thou art a 
solitary being, standing alone in the midst of 
this wide world. No; thou belongest to a 
great spiritual Body, which is called *^the 
Church of God,'' or ^Uhe Church of Christ." 

Strictly speaking, those only belong to this 
blessed Family who are really and truly Chris f s 
people ; who are under the influence of His 
grace, are led by His Spirit, and are faithfully 
serving Him. And of this body He himself 
is the living Head. Eph. i. 22, 23, v. 23; 
Col i. 18. 

But this expression, *'the Church," is often 
used in a much wider sense, to include all bap- 
tized persons. It is with us Christians, much 
as it was with the Jews of old. They, as a 
nation, were God's Church. They were also 
called ** a holy people," and yet the really 
holy ones among them were but a little flock ; 
for, as the apostle says, ^* They are not all 
Israel, which are of Israel." Ro?n. ix. 6. 

**The Church on earth," says Bishop Beve- 
ridge, **is like a floor, in which the chaff" is 

(91) 



92 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

mixed with the grain ; it is like a field, in 
which the tares and wheat are found : it is like 
a net, in which are gathered fishes of every 
kind, both bad and good/* 

Now, you and I have by baptism been 
grafted into this Body. We have been num- 
bered among Christ's flock, and placed under 
His sheltering care. But are we truly His? 
Are we His in heart and life, as well as in name ? 
If so, then indeed are our ** names written in 
heaven ; " the Lord's mark is upon us, and He 
will presently take us into His Church above. 
And there we shall join our dear brethren, 
whose warfare is over — such as Moses, and 
Daniel, and Paul, and Stephen, and all those 
holy ones, who have *' washed their robes, and 
made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'* 

** One family we dwell in Him, 
One Church above, beneath ; 
Though now divided by the stream, 
The narrow stream of death." 

But besides belonging to that vast body, 
which is spread all over the world, you are 
probably also a member of that lesser company 
which is called the Episcopal Church. 

Now, what is the Episcopal Church? Where 
did it spring from ? Is it a true Church ? Are 
we right in belonging to it? I will answer 
these questions by a very plain and simple 
illustration. 



CHURCH MEMBERSHIP, 93 

We will picture to ourselves some wide and 
noble river, flowing along for miles and miles, 
far beyond where our eye can reach. Here 
and there is a little stream branching out from 
it — a part of the same mighty river — but run- 
ning in a different channel, and making glad 
the land through which it flows. Some of 
these little streams are clear and pure : others 
are choked up and muddy. Some have 
pursued their course for years : others have 
only lately swelled into their present dimen- 
sions. 

Now, let this main river serve to represent 
to you the Church of God — that Church which 
has existed from the days of Christ, or rather 
from the time of Adam, and Abel, and Enoch ; 
for God has always had a people to himself on 
the earth — that Church for which the Saviour 
died, and which is so unspeakably dear to 
Him, which has lasted, and will last, forever. 

And these little outlets — these little daugh- 
ter-streams — what do they represent? Why, 
they are like the various Churches, which have 
branched out from the parent body. Some 
of these are pure Churches, and the favor of 
God rests upon them ; others are impure, and 
therefore cannot last. 

The Churches of Corinth, and of Galatia, 
and of Ephesus, &c., were all different branches 
of the one Universal Church. So it is with 
our own Church. A branch from that river 



94 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

soon found its way into England, and after- 
wards to America. It met with many impedi- 
ments and barriers at first. Gradually, how- 
ever, it forced a passage for itself, causing 
idolatry and misery to disappear before it, and 
refreshing and fertilizing the country wherever 
its waters found their way. But Satan, who is 
ever jealous of what interferes with his own 
designs, soon dropped his seeds of error into 
this stream, which he hoped would in due time 
spring up and produce a large crop of noxious 
weeds, and so choke it and stop its course. 
He was, alas, but too successful ; and the 
waters were, for a while, corrupted and 
checked. I am speaking of the time when 
Popery nearly destroyed our Church. Thank 
God, however, the Reformation came to purify 
it. The waters were cleansed ; the weeds 
were uprooted and cast away ; and once more 
did the stream flow clear and free. Now again 
did those who dwelt on its banks bring their 
vessels, and drink of the pure waters of salva- 
tion. 

Since then, indeed, Satan has again and 
again tried to pollute this stream, and to stay 
its progress. But it seems now to run more 
freely than ever. It is not only fertilizing our 
own country; but this little branch of the 
great river has reached many a distant land, 
where it is carrying the richest and choicest 
blessings. 



CHURCH MEMBERSHIP, 95 

And now, to leave our illustration, let us see 
what great reasons we have to be thankful that 
we are members of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church. I will just mention three. 

First, she is a pure and sound Church. She 
is not resting on the shifting opinions of man, 
but upon God's eternal truth. Hers are the 
*^old paths, where is the good way." In the 
main, she is the same to-day as she was seven- 
teen hundred years ago, when England first 
became a Christian country. She honors the 
Saviour, and leads her children to Him. 
Therefore, whatever her foes may say — what- 
ever faults and failings they may find in her — 
she is a safe home for all who seek shelter in 
her communion, and faithfully follow her 
teaching as she follows Christ. 

Doubtless this Church has failings ; for what 
Church has not? Even those that were 
planted in the days of the apostles were not 
altogether free from them. False doctrine 
worked its way into the Church of Galatia ; 
and objectionable practices, and party feeling, 
into the Church of Corinth. If we look for 
perfection in any Church on earth, we shall 
only be disappointed. We must wait for that 
in the Church above. Meanwhile, be thankful 
that your Church's faults are so few, and that 
her excellencies are so many. 

Secondly, our Church is a scriptural Church. 



96 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

Her framework is after the model of God's 
word. The doctrines which she sets forth can 
be proved from the Bible. She plainly declares 
that **Holy Scripture containeth all things 
necessary to salvation ; so that whatsoever is 
not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, 
is not to be required of any man that it should 
be believed as an article of the faith, or be 
thought requisite or necessary to salvation.*' 
(Article VI.) Those holy men, who drew up 
our formularies, took the Bible as their guide. 
And I know of no prayers so enriched with 
the language of Scripture, and so truly spiritual, 
as those which are appointed for our public 
worship. Many pious men not of this Church 
have acknowledged this. ''I believe,'* says 
Wesley, ** there is no Liturgy in the world 
which breathes more of a solid, scriptural, 
rational piety, than the Common Prayer-book 
of the Church of England." 

Thirdly, ours is a Church which meets the 
wants of alL It is one of the glories of this 
Christian country that, from one end of the 
land to the other, buildings devoted to God's 
especial service rear their majestic heads. Here 
the rich and poor meet together, and God is 
the Maker of them all. Here, the humblest, as 
well as the greatest, may join with his brethren 
in prayer — prayer that he can understand — 
prayer suited to his wants — prayer in which he 



CHURCH MEMBERSHIP. 97 

can follow his minister. And here, too, he can 
sit and listen to the glad sounds of gospel grace 
and mercy. 

And to each parish there is an appointed 
Pastor, as well as a House of prayer — not only 
a safe Fold into which you may be gathered, 
but a Shepherd to feed you there — one com- 
missioned by God to instruct you, to warn you, 
to encourage you on your heavenward road, to 
visit you in your homes, as your spiritual friend 
and counsellor, and to stand by you in the hour 
of sickness, and to speak you in the Saviour's 
name, and tell you of a Saviour's love. 

And if your minister should prove faithless 
to his flock, what then ? To his own Master 
he must stand or fall. But, even in such a case, 
(and, thank God, it is not a common one in 
these days,) you would be wrong to forsake the 
sound and scriptural Body, to which you are 
happily united. And yet how often, and how 
thoughtlessly, this is done ! Because your min- 
ister is unworthy of his high office, or because 
you may have taken offence at something that 
he has said or done, or because his views are 
not such as to fall in with your own, are you 
justified in quitting the Church of which you 
are a member, and seeking for yourself another 
communion? As well might a soldier desert 
his company, because the manner in which his 
captain commanded it was not according to his 
taste. Rather is it your duty, in such a case, 
7 



98 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

to pray earnestly to God to send you ^* faithful 
and true pastors," and, meanwhile, to wait in 
hope, till He sees fit, in his love, to bring about 
a happier state of things. 

I have not unfrequently observed this — that 
where a truly Christian man or woman has been 
living for a while in a parish which is but little 
cared for, he has, in spite of his disadvantages, 
grown in grace and humility, from the fact of 
being thrown more entirely upon the precious 
teaching of God himself; just as one has some- 
times found the sweetest and loveliest flowers 
growing in some waste and barren spot, un- 
cared for, and uncultivated by the hand of man. 

Let your love to your Church, then, be inde- 
pendent of the conduct of any one particular 
Minister. Let your attachment to her be so 
deeply seated, that nothing of the kind I have 
alluded to could cause you to separate from her. 

I have dwelt a little on this subject, because 
I think that we are apt to be blind to our duties, 
and to undervalue our privileges, as members 
of the Church ; and also because there are 
many, who are ever ready to lead away those, 
who seem to be in earnest about their souls, 
from the fold in which God has placed them. 

Now for a word or two of advice. 

T. Try and realize your Church membership. 
Once you were an Episcopalian, because per- 
haps your father and mother were so before you. 



CHURCH MEMBERSHIP, 99 

But I hope you will now feel that you have 
stronger reasons than this. Once you were 
content with the mere name; but now, I trust, 
you desire to act as a consistent member of the 
Church. For just as each member of a Family 
has certain duties to perform to his parent, or 
his brother, or his sister, so have we all many 
sacred duties to perform to our Church, We 
should look upon our fellow-members as beloved 
brethren in Christ, banded together in the same 
holy fellowship. We should feel a hearty love 
for our Church, and stand up for it against all 
opponents, faithfully obey its rules, do our best 
to promote its interests, and bring as many as 
we can into its safe and happy fold. 

2. Endeavor to be an active, earnest, and 
zealous meinber of the Church. There are many 
drones in the hive. What we want is men and 
women who will work heartily for God. You 
may be but a very humble member of the 
Church; but still you are a member. There is 
a work, then, for you to do ; yes, a special 
work. Has not every limb of the body a fixed 
employment ? Is it only the hands, and the 
feet, and the tongue, that need act? Surely 
every separate member must do its part. And 
so it is also with the Christian body, i Cor. xii. 

Now, remember this. And ask God to show 
you what He would have you to do. Consult 
your minister, as to how you may best serve 
Christ ; and then determine no longer to live 



loo THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

unto yourself, as perhaps you have hitherto 
done, but unto Him who loved you, and gave 
Himself for you. 

3. Make yourself more fully acquainted with 
the doctrines of your Church, Read over care- 
fully, and often, the Thirty-nine Articles, which 
you will find in your Prayer-book, and compare 
them with God's word. Then wall you have 
some good reason to give to those who ask you 
why you are an Episcopalian. 

4. Never allow yourself to speak harshly of 
those who differ from you. We should deal by 
others as we would be dealt by. Our attach- 
ment to our own Church ought to be warm and 
hearty. We should hold our own firmly. And, 
if so, our hearts will naturally be drawn more 
closely towards those of our own communion 
than towards any others. We may feel that 
those who are not Episcopalians are great 
losers, and that ours is ** the more excellent 
way.'* We may be persuaded that we are right, 
and that they are wrong. We may feel that 
our Lord would have us all to be one ; and 
that those who '' cause divisions" in His Church 
are weakening it, and thereby grieving Him. 
But still, however decided we may be in main- 
taining what we believe to be right, let us never 
speak one harsh or unchristian word against 
those who do not see as we see. If they love the 
Saviour, let us love them for His sake ; and let 
us earnestly pray that the time may speedily 



CHURCH MEMBERSHIP, loi 

come, when Christ's people shall be all one ; 
when ** Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and 
Judah shall not vex Ephraim : '' but there shall 
be *^ one fold and one Shepherd. '^ 

There may be some persons, who will en- 
deavor to shake your attachment to the Church 
to which you belong. The moment they see 
you religiously disposed, they will try to win 
you over to their own particular party. A 
really religious man would scorn to do this. 
But there are some who, instead of rejoicing 
to see you on the Lord' s side, are only anxious 
to get you on their side. They will tell you 
that you will get more spiritual help with them ; 
that you will meet with a warmer and more 
brotherly welcome ; that you will find, in this 
or that body, more pasturage for your soul than 
you can get in your own Church. 

Believe it not. God can, and will, bless you 
in your present communion, if you are faithful 
to Him. If any would draw you from it, tell 
them that you dare not leave it : you feel it to 
be your shelter and your home — a Pathway 
of safety^ which has already led thousands to 
heaven, and which is able to lead you. 

I will now close this chapter in the words of 
a Christian writer: — *' For my own part (he 
says) I have looked anxiously into the character 
and working of many systems of religion ; and 
I trust that I know how to respect those who 
cannot see with my eyes. But, after all my 



102 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

searchings, I find no Church like the old one. 
I love the shade of the old vine, and the 
shelter of the old wall, within which my 
fathers lived well, and died happily. It is 
delightful to nae, in a shifting, fleeting, dying 
world, to find something which lasts. And 
I trust, through God's infinite grace, to be an 
humble, watchful, loving worshipper in this 
happy company of the Lord's people, till 1 
change the Church on earth for the Church 
in heaven.'' 



CHAPTER VIII. 

DANGERS FROM WITHOUT. 

THE WORLD — LOOSE AND UNGODLY FRIENDSHIPS 

PERSECUTION, 

If you have ever read ^' Bunyan's Pilgrim's 
Progress/* you will remember that ^^Christian " 
had not a very easy path, on his way to the 
** celestial city." He had to toil up many a 
hill, and to encounter many a danger, as he 
journeyed onward. And so, dear reader, must 
it be with you and me. If we would *' enter 
the kingdom," it must be ^'through much 
tribulation." The way is ^* narrow" along 
which we must travel, and the gate '* strait" 
through which we must pass. 

Some of these dangers I am going to set 
before you in this and the next chapter. Not 
that I would wish to alarm or discourage you. 
God forbid ! But I should be but a poor guide, 
if, whilst I pointed out to you the pathway of 
safety^ I did not tell you of the dangers on 
every side, and show you how to meet them. 
It has been truly said, that '' to be/^r<?warned is 
to be y^r^armed." 

(103) 



104 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

I. One of your chief dangers will be from 
THE WORLD. How should you feel and act 
towards it? You have, perhaps, hitherto loved 
the world. Its ways, its pleasures, and its fol- 
lowers, have been all to your taste. The word 
of God cautioned you, '' Love not the world ; '* 
but you did love it ; for you had nothing better 
on which to set your heart and affections. But 
now a purer love fills your heart — the love of 
God — the love of that dear Saviour of whom 
you can say, ** He is all my salvation and all 
my desire. '* If He has, indeed, taken up his 
abode within you, then sure I am that there is 
no longer any room for the world ; and much 
that once was so sweet to you, you have now no 
relish for. 

'^How then am I to act?" you will ask. 
''Am I to flee from my fellow-men? Am I to 
give up the occupations of life ? Must I run 
out of the world, as I would escape from some 
plague-house? Must I wander afar off, and 
remain in the wilderness ? Must I lead a 
hermit-life? Is this the only way to escape 
' the pollutions that are in the world ' ? " Many 
have done so, and yet the world has followed 
them to their lonely cells. In our Lord's last 
prayer for his people, we see that He would 
have them kept in the worlds and yet preserved 
from the evil of it. ''I pray not," He says, 
''that thou shouldest take them out of the world, 
but that thou shouldest keep them from the 



DANGERS FROM WITHOUT, 105 

evil." John xvii. 15. He would not have 
them run away from the world, as from an 
enemy which they could not master ; but He 
asks for them that God would keep them safely 
whilst they are in it, and that He would deliver 
them from its many entanglements. 

Whilst, then, you are in the world, take care 
that you are not of the world. Try and live* 
above it. If you were dressed in a garment of 
pure white, and you had to travel along some 
miry road, would you not walk carefully, pick- 
ing your way at every step, lest you should soil 
your snow-white robes? Or if you were pass- 
ing through a city, where some dreadful and 
infectious disease existed, would you not be 
careful to avoid those streets where the disease 
was raging? Act so with the world. Whilst 
you mix in its needful employments, endeavor 
to avoid its snares, and ^'keep yourself un- 
spotted from the world." 

If you are a poor man or woman, try to glorify 
God in your humble calling. Let your life be 
one of honest industry. I find it written in 
the Bible, that '* if any man will not work 
neither shall he eat." 2 Thess, iii. 10. Idle- 
ness was one of the sins of Sodom. Religion 
must be no pretence for slothfulness. Instead 
of giving up your worldly occupations, let it be 
your endeavor to carry them on in a Christian 
spirit. Use this world ; but do not abuse it. 
Use it for God. Look upon it as a wilderness 



io6 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

on your way to the promised Canaan ; as the 
mariner regards the sea, not as a dwelling-place, 
but as a passage to his desired port. 

If you are in business, try and act on the 
gospel rule in all your transactions. Be strictly 
honest even in the smallest matter ; and let the 
world see, that your religion does not consist in 
bare words, but that it runs through all the 
actions of your life. 

If you work for others, let your religious prin- 
ciple make you as careful of your employer's 
interests as of your own. Seek to win his con- 
fidence by your desire to act rightly. And by 
your kind, cheerful, and obliging conduct, show 
that yours is a religion which gives you joy and 
peace. 

Or, again, if you are a person of rank and 
influence, use these talents in your Master's 
service ; lay them out for the good of your 
fellow-creatures, and for His glory. 

It is not necessary to go out of the station 
in which God has placed you. Joseph of 
Arimathea did not cease from being '* an honor- 
able counsellor" when he became a Christian. 
Neither did Cornelius, the Roman officer, feel 
it necessary to quit the service of his country 
when he joined the ranks of Christ. But there 
was this marked change in each of them — the 
one became a Christian counsellor, and the 
other a Christian soldier. They acted hence- 
forth as religious men, with the fear of God 



DANGERS FROM WITHOUT, 107 

before their eyes, and the love of God in their 
hearts. It is clearly, then, our. duty to try and 
shine in our several stations, whatever they be, 
and to carry the spirit of a Christian with us 
into our daily life. 

But perhaps you will feel that this is no 
easy matter. I know your difficulties, and 
how little able you are of yourself to meet 
them. But remember Him who said, ^' My 
grace is sufficient for thee ; for my strength 
is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor, xii. 9. 
Throw yourself upon Christ, and all will be 
well. If you are willing to be his servant, you 
must make up your mind to brave the charge 
of being singular ; for His people have always 
been '^ men wondered at ; " and does not the 
Apostle urge us not to be ^^ conformed to this 
world," but to be ^' transformed by the renew- 
ing of our minds " ? Rom. xii. 2. 

In short, the true Christian must needs be 
in many respects very different from other men. 
There is a broad line, as it were, which marks 
off the path of each. The servant of Christ 
must not fall in with the corrupt ways of a 
sinful world. To use a familiar phrase, he 
must not cut the coat of his profession accord- 
ing to the fashion of those around him. It is 
said of a certain great courtier, that being 
once asked how he managed always to keep in 
favor amidst great changes, when at one time 
a Popish king, and at another time a Protestant 



io8 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

king, was on the throne — he replied, that ^^ he 
was not born a stubborn oak, but a bending 
willow,''^ And shall this be your character ? 
No ; there must be no wavering about you, no 
bending this way or that way to suit your own 
interest. You n^ust be fixed in your prin- 
ciples, and not be blown about by every gust 
of wind. 

It is more than likely that you will some- 
times be taunted for acting differently from 
those you are with. Now, to be singular in 
little and unimportant things, as a rule, is 
wrong. But in important matters, where the 
soul's interests are at stake, a stand must be 
made ; there must be a *^ coming out, and being 
separate,'' a determination not even to ^' touch 
the unclean thing." 2 Cor. vi. 7. 

There are some practices, however, connected 
with the world, about which there can be no 
doubt ; for they are positively dangerous, and 
clearly sinful. These you must carefully avoid, 
if you would be a candidate for heaven : you 
must resolutely, and at once, set your face 
against them. 

For instance, did you once indulge in those 
pleasures which are hurtful to the soul ? Did 
you find delight in such pastimes as are to be 
met with at the circus, the theatre, or the 
ballroom, or on the race-course ? These must 
be given up. Some will perhaps say to you, 
'* Only partake of such amusements moderately 



DANGERS FROM WITHOUT. 109 

and they will do you no harm.'^ But I am 
bound to tell you that they are evil, and must be 
altogether shunned ; for -' what fellowship hath 
righteousness with unrighteousness? and what 
communion hath light with darkness? " Such 
places can no longer be fit for you ; such 
pleasures cannot be congenial to a Christian's 
spirit. 

Were you once fond of dress? Did you seek 
to be admired? Was the praise of your fellow- 
men sweet to your taste ? Such must no longer 
be your feelings. They are altogether un- 
suited to a changed and sanctified heart. 
They are of the world and not of God. Were 
you once, not actually dishonest perhaps, but 
a little too sharp about a bargain ? Such a 
character would now but ill become you. You 
must be just, straightforward, honest, and up- 
right in all your dealings. 

And here let me meet a question which often 
perplexes a beginner in the Christian life — 
** What ought I to give up? Is this or that 
thing lawful?** ^' Is it right to go here or 
there — to do this or that? '* The best rules I 
can lay down for you are these — 

1. Consult your Bible, and see if God says 
anything there on the matter you are doubting 
about. 

2. Ask God to direct every step you take, 



no THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

and to guide your judgment, so that you may 
see clearly what is the right course. 

3. Go nowhere, where you cannot ask God 
to go with you. Engage in nothing, on which 
you cannot entreat His blessing. Do nothing, 
which is likely to unfit you afterwards for re- 
ligious exercises. 

4. Whenever you dotcbt about a thing being 
lawful, remember, it is the safer course to 
avoid it. 

Again and again, as the Christian journeys 
on, here one difficulty, and there another, be- 
sets his path. He would be glad indeed to 
have some clear rule to guide him in every 
case, and under every circumstance. But God 
gives us no such precise rules. He often calls 
upon us to consider each as the case may be. 
We must take each particular emergency, and 
act as we believe to be best. ^' Every day 
(says a Christian writer) does the seaman on 
his voyage take his observations, that he may 
rightly direct his course. He compares his 
position with his charts. He considers the 
direction of the wind, and the set of the tide. 
And from all these together he judges how to 
steer his vessel. And is not this an image of 
our own condition ? We cannot have a guide 
at our right hand to tell us exactly what we 
should do, and where we should go, and how 
we should act, in every particular instance. 



DANGERS FROM WITHOUT. iii 

What is right for one is wrong, for another. 
Our duty is, to try and act as we believe God 
would have us act ; and our comfort is, that if, 
at the same time, we honestly ' commit our 
ways unto the Lord/ He will, according to 
His promise, * direct our steps.' " 

But, after all, we must bear this in mind, 
that it is much easier to talk about giving up 
the world than to carry the resolution into 
effect. Our attachment to it is not laid aside 
in a moment. When we think we have done 
with it, it appears in some fresh shape. Like 
a wounded serpent, that we have set our foot 
upon, it presently creeps in again, when we 
imagine that we have utterly cast it out. And 
if we do not take care, it will sting us yet, 
though it seems so harmless. It requires, in- 
deed, some advance in grace to overcome the 
love of the world. He must be a full-grown 
Christian who can say with St. Paul, ^*The 
world is crucified unto me, and I unto the 
world." GaL vi. 14. 

2. Loose and ungodly Friendships, too, 
are very apt to prove hurtful to the inexperi- 
enced Christian. Here, then, is another dan- 
ger to be guarded against. It is not merely 
the companionship of the depraved and profli- 
gate that will do you harm, but also of the 
trifling, the idle, and the vain. But you may 
find it somewhat difficult to get rid of such 



112 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

companions, if you are already encumbered 
with them. A little caution is required in do- 
ing this. You must not shake them off too 
roughly, or you may needlessly stir up their 
enmity against you. And yet they must be 
given up. Take care that you are not actuated 
by a spirit of pride, as though you would say, 
*' Stand by thyself, come not near ; I am holier 
than thou.'* Isaiah Ixv. 5. Behave kindly, 
and gently, and tenderly, even to those whom 
you know to be wrong. Remember, you were 
once wrong yourself, and on some points, 
doubtless, you are wrong still. You were once 
just as blind as they are, and your heart was as 
hard and worldly as theirs. Therefore be con- 
siderate towards them, and use every means in 
your power to do them good, and to win them 
over. 

Your intercourse, however, with ungodly 
and worldly persons must be broken off, or your 
soul will be sure to suffer. Their example and 
conversation will have a bad effect upon you. 
If you mix much with those who despise re- 
ligion, you will, almost without knowing it, 
fall in with their ways; your hatred of sin will 
be deadened ; your love for the Saviour will 
grow cold ; and so, by slow, but sure degrees, 
you will at length become like those with 
whom you associate. 

No, dear reader, you cannot touch the fire 
without being burnt. You cannot even occa- 



DANGERS FROM WITHOUT. 113 

sionally sip an unwholesome mixture without 
feeling the bad effects to your own health. 
** Evil communications corrupt good manners. ' * 
"Enter not," says the wise king, ^' into the 
path of the wicked, and go not into the way 
of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it; turn 
from it, and pass away." Prov, iv. 14. "O 
my soul, come not thou into their secret. Un- 
to their assembly, mine honor, be not thou 
united." Gen, xlix. 6. And let me say 
this — if you have still a hankering after the 
company of the ungodly and the worldly- 
minded, then begin to suspect that your own 
heart cannot be right with God. You cannot 
have become " a new creature," or you would 
assuredly find the ways, and the language, and 
the spirit of worldly men to be distasteful to 
you. 

Then take a decided course. Make a firm 
stand. Cost what it may, the companionship of 
the wicked must be shunned. You must not let 
smooth words, nor angry expressions, move 
you from the strait and narrow path. 

3. Another danger which serves to deter 
some is persecution. This you are pretty sure 
to meet with in one shape or other. And this 
is a danger to be prepared for. Persecution is 
the portion of Christ's servants. It is what 
they must expect ; for the word of God says, 
" All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall 
8 



114 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

suffer persecution." 2 Tim, iii. 12. '*The 
servant is not greater than his Lord : if they 
have persecuted me, they will also persecute 
you." John xv. 20. 

If you meet with persecution, it will try 
your faith ; it will, perhaps, make you flinch a 
little, and feel half-disposed to shrink back. 
A jeering look from some old companion, or a 
discouraging word from one w^ho ought to help 
you on ; coldness from those who have been 
always in the habit of showing you kindness ; 
houses closed against you, where once you 
always met with a welcome reception ; false 
accusations brought against you, and wrong 
motives laid to your charge — all this is hard to 
bear. It has been said, with truth, that many 
a brave man, who would not fear to stand at a 
cannon^s mouth, has trembled before the sneer 
of his fellow-man. 

So it is. Our poor feeble hearts are apt to 
quail before the scorn of man. But it will 
comfort us to remember that Jesus has borne it 
before us. The prophets, and apostles, and 
early Christians passed through far hotter trials 
than yours. And the same God who supported 
them can strengthen you, and carry you 
through unhurt. 

It is said of John Huss, the Bohemian mar- 
tyr, that, when he was brought out to be 
burned, they put on his head a crown of paper 
with painted devils on it. On seeing it, he 



DANGERS FROM WITHOUT. 115 

said, '* My Lord Jesus Christ, for my sake, 
wore a crown of thorns ; why should not I, 
then, for His sake, wear this light crown, be it 
ever so ignominious ? Truly, I will do it, and 
that willingly/' When it was set upon his 
head, some who stood by said, *^Now, we 
commit thy soul to the devil.*' *^But I," said 
Huss, lifting up his eyes towards heaven, *Mo 
commit my spirit into thy hands, O Lord Jesus 
Christ." 

And how do you feel when you are re- 
proached, scorned, derided and crowned with 
ignominy, for Jesus' sake? Oh, try and feel 
as the disciples felt, when '^ they departed 
from the presence of the council, rejoicing that 
they were counted worthy to suffer shame for 
his name y Acts v. 41. 

You may perhaps have something to bear. But 
no matter, if it is for Chris f s sake. The ene- 
mies of religion may taunt you, — they may treat 
you with violence, — but if they go ever so far, 
they cannot really hurt you. They may break 
the casket, but they cannot touch the jewel 
within. Therefore, fear them not. **Fear 
not them that kill the body, but after that have 
no more that they can do." In the hour of 
trial look up for strength, and it will be given 
you ; and feel it an honor to suffer for your 
Master's sake. 

It is certainly desirable to exercise prudence, 
as well as boldness. But never think that any 



Ii6 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

amount of prudence will keep you clear of all 
opposition from an ungodly world. ** Many 
winter blasts (says Archbishop Leighton) will 
meet you in the way of religion, if you keep 
straight to it. Suffering and war with the 
world is a part of the godly man's portion 
here, which seems hard ; but take it altogether 
it is sweet. None in their wits will refuse that 
legacy entire — ' In the world ye shall have 
tribulation, but in me ye shall have peace.' 
John xvi. 33. This is the path to the king- 
dom ; that which all the sons of God have 
gone in, even Christ, as that known word is, 
* One Son without sin^ but none without suffer- 
ing,^ Persecution meets the Christian in his 
first entry into the path of the kingdom, and 
goes along all the way. No sooner canst thou 
begin to seek the way to heaven, but the world 
will seek how to vex and molest thee, and 
make that way grievous.'' 

Do not, however, seek persecution. To fly 
from it is wrong ; for if you are ashamed of 
Christ, He will be ashamed of you. But it is 
equally wrong to court it, and to run into it 
needlessly. If, then, you are free from perse- 
cution, be very thankful. But if it is forced 
upon you, do not shrink from it ; but bear it 
cheerfully and patiently, *' rejoicing that you 
are counted worthy to suffer shame for Christ's 
name." Acts v. 41. ** Blessed are ye (says 
our Lord) when men shall revile you and per- 



DANGERS FROM WITHOUT, 117 

secute you, and shall say all manner of evil 
against you falsely for my sake : rejoice and 
be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in 
heaven/' Matt, v. 11, 12. 

Be very careful never to lose your temper 
when spoken against. Think of your Lord, 
who, **when He was reviled, reviled not 
again, but committed himself to Him that 
judgeth righteously/' i Pet, ii. 23. Meekly, 
and if possible even cheerfully, bear the cross 
that is laid upon you. And if you thus re- 
pay harsh words and rough treatment with 
kindness and love, you will be glorifying 
God, and smoothing your own path. Who 
knows but that your Christian conduct may 
win over your persecutors ? Or, at all events, 
may not the time come, when those who 
have treated you scornfully shall see their 
error ? 

Before closing this subject, I cannot forbear 
adding a word about these persecutions, which 
many bring upon themselves by their own in- 
consistencies and unguarded conduct. We 
should never forget, that it is only to those 
who are persecuted ''for righteousness' sake,''' 
that a blessing is promised. Matt. v. 10. If, 
therefore, we are smarting from this sharp 
weapon, which the world is ever too ready 
to use against the Christian, will it not be well 
to look a little closely into the matter, and 
see whether we may not, in part at least, have 



Ii8 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

drawn this evil upon ourselves? There may 
have been something in our conduct, our 
words, our manner of speaking, or in our 
general bearing, which has perhaps almost 
/;2z;//^^ persecution. For instance, we may be 
a little sharp and censorious in our language ; 
we may carry ourselves in an overbearing 
manner ; we may have zeal without prudence. 
These and other causes may have given rise 
to the ill-treatment we have received, and 
which has caused us so much distress. Surely, 
we shall do well to take our daily conduct 
seriously to task, in order to discover, and cast 
out, whatever may be causing needless offence. 
Happy for us, if no blame lies at our own 
door. '^Rejoice (says the Apostle) inasmuch 
as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that 
when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be 
glad also with exceeding joy." 

The following was the prayer of one of our 
own persecuted Bishops, who died as a martyr 
for the truth of Christ: — *^The Lord grant us 
his heavenly grace and strength, that we may 
confess Him in this world, amongst this adul- 
terous and sinful generation ; that he may con- 
fess us at the latter day before his Father which 
is in heaven, to his glory, and our everlasting 
comfort, joy, and salvation.** — Bishop Ridley. 



CHAPTER IX. 

DANGERS FROM WITHIN. 

AN EVIL HEART — PRIDE — TEMPER — UNCHARITABLE- 
NESS — SELFISHNESS — IDLENESS — INFLUENCE OF BAD 
HABITS. 

The Christian is now in an enemy's country. 
He is living in a world at enmity for the most 
part against his Lord, and against himself as one 
of His followers. He is exposed, therefore, as 
we have seen, to numberless outward dangers. 
But these are not all ; nor indeed are they his 
worst enemies. Besides these, there are dan- 
gers from within — enemies in the very citadel of 
his own heart. I shall now speak of these. 
And may God speak by me to your profit ! 

To begin with, I would have you always bear 
this in mind — that we have all of us to contend 
with a corrupt and evil heart. Although the 
heart may have been renewed by the Holy Spirit, 
there is a remnant of sin and corruption, which 
still clings to us, and will cling to us to the very 
last. Hence, in every really earnest soul there 
is a continual and mighty struggle : '' the old 

(119) 



I20 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

man" rebels against ''the new man.'* There 
is an inward conflict ever going on. All God's 
people feel this more or less. Hear what St. 
Paul says of himself: ''To will is present with 
me ; but how to perform that which is good I 
find not ; for the evil that I would not, that I 
do.'' " I find then a law, that, when I would 
do good, evil is present with me." Rom. vii. 

In the beginning of a Christian's course, he 
is often disposed to fancy that the work of grace 
is already completed, that the warfare is over, 
and that henceforth all will be smooth and 
peaceful. And then he thinks it strange to find 
himself tried and perplexed by inward struggles. 
He believes ; and fancies that he shall never 
again be troubled by weakness of faith. The 
flame of love burns brightly in his heart ; and 
he imagines that it will never flag, or grow dim 
again. Ah, but he forgets that he has within 
him this evil heart, always ready to go wrong. 
For, though he can say with thankfulness, "I 
delight in the law of God, after the inward 
man," he is forced, by sad experience, to add, 
"But I see another law in my members war- 
rmg against the law of my mind, and leading me 
into captivity to the law of sin which is in my 
members." Rom. vii. 22, 23. 

Marvel not, then, dear Christian reader, if 
you find that there is a sore conflict going on 
within you. But rather rejoice ; for it is a proof 
that there is life in your soul. Neither marvel, 



DANGERS FROM WITHIN, 121 

if you feel the weight and pressure of indwelling 
sin ; for the more you knosv of true holiness, 
the more sensible will you be of the existence of 
sin within you, and the more you will be dis- 
tressed at its presence. How was it that, time 
back, you felt nothing of all this? There were 
no '' fightings within " then ; no striving for the 
mastery ; no groanings for deliverance. No ; 
for Satan at that time held you fast. Your soul 
was slumbering; it was '^ sleeping the sleep of 
death. '^ 

Be thankful if it is otherwise with you now. 
And be not surprised when I tell you, that you 
will have to carry on a vigorous and unceasing 
warfare against the corruptions of your own 
heart, as long as you remain here. 

Let me now try and point out to you in what 
various ways these corruptions will show them- 
selves. And so let me put you upon your 
guard. 

I. Beware of /^r/^<?. But you will say, per- 
haps, '' Now that I have taken the Gospel as my 
rule, is there any fear of pride springing up in 
my heart?'* Yes, there is much fear of it. 
There is such a thing as spiritual pride. And 
this is a danger which is by no means unusual 
in the case of a young believer. Now that the 
Holy Spirit has begun to enlighten you, and 
you already see things, as it were, with new 
eyes, and know many truths which you were, 



122 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

but a short time ago, quite ignorant of, perhaps 
you feel astonished that others can be so blind. 
Then comes the Tempter, and fills you with the 
notion that you are better than they, that your 
sight is clearer, your knowledge greater, and 
your strength firmer. You feel that you are on 
a rock, and fancy that you shall never be 
moved. 

If it be so with you, let me put in a word in 
time. You see more than you once did, and 
more perhaps than many ; but there is much 
dimness yet. You have much still to learn. 
Your strength is only weakness. Can that little 
child, which you notice in the street, walk 
alone? It may try; but it will fall. Its 
mother's hand must lead it, and its mother's 
arm support it. And you are but as a little 
child. The '' everlasting arms " must be under- 
neath you, or your strength will surely give 
way. '^ Let him that thinketh he standeth take 
heed lest he fall." 

The holiest men are generally the humblest. 
Was Abraham proud? He speaks of himself 
as *'dust and ashes." Gen. xviii. 27. Was 
Isaiah proud? He says, ^*I am a man of un- 
clean lips." Isa. vi. 5. Was Jeremiah proud? 
When God called him to his high office, his 
answer shows how unworthy he felt himself of 
so great an honor ; ^*Ah, Lord God, behold, 
I cannot speak, for I am a child." Jer. i. 6. 
Was St. Paul proud ? He felt himself to be 



DANGERS FROM WITHIN, 123 

** less than the least of all saints ; *' ^' not meet 
to be called an apostle.'* Eph, iii. 8; i Cor. 
XV. 9. 

Pride is one of the most hateful symptoms of 
our fallen nature. Poor foolish man is pleased 
with being made much of. He likes to feel 
that he is of some consequence. The idea of 
being looked down upon, and passed by, is 
very painful to most of us. We can bear any- 
thing sooner than this. Many of us would be 
willing, if called upon, to undergo actual suf- 
fering for Christ's sake. We could endure 
persecution. All this is much easier than to 
put up with contempt, and to be little esteemed 
by those about us. And yet cheerfully to ac- 
cept this is Christ-like. This is what He bore 
so willingly for us ; and it is what we should be 
willing to bear also. Such is the true spirit of 
the gospel — not merely to confess that we are 
nothing, but to y^^/ that we are nothing, and to 
be willing that others should think so too — to feel 
no repining at being overlooked, cast into the 
shade, yea, trampled under foot. Oh, what an 
attainment is this ! And yet how few, how very 
few, reach it. 

But, observe here, there is such a thing as 
false humility, which, in fact, is nothing more 
nor less than pride in its very worst shape. 
When, for instance, a man speaks of himself 
as being nothing, in order that he may get the 
credit of being thought humble ; or when he is 



124 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

forever talking of his sinfulness, and yet has 
no sorrow on account of sin — this is nothing 
but a dressed-up humility. It is pride, under 
another name ; and if it lurks in your breast, 
may God strip you, and take it from you ! 

It is not an humble appearance merely that 
we want, or an humble speech, or an humble 
character among men ; but an humble heart, 
and an humble walk. Oh that we may be 
sincere in this matter ! Oh that we may be low 
in our own eyes, and willing to be low in the 
eyes of others ! 

There is a great charm in Humility. Even 
the world knows something of its loveliness. 
But, what is of more consequence, it is pleasing in 
the sight of God : *^ He hath respect unto the 
lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.*' 
Fs, cxxxviii. 6. It is *^the poor in spirit *' that 
He loves to '' satisfy with good things." And 
it is **to the humble" that *'He giveth 
more grace." ** His sweet dews and showers 
of grace (says Archbishop Leighton) slide off the 
mountains of pride, and fall on the low valleys 
of humble hearts, and make them pleasant and 
fertile." Another Christian writer remarks, 
that ''the emptier the vessel, and the lower it 
is let down in the well, the more water it draws 
up ; so the more the soul is emptied of self, and 
the lower it is let down by humility, the more 
itfetcheth out of the well of salvation." The 



DANGERS FROM WITHIN. 125 

bough that bears the most fruit usually bends 
the lowest. 

Seek, then, a really humble, lowly, meek 
spirit. Think much of God's greatness and 
holiness, and then look at your own littleness 
and vileness. Ask the Lord to lift up the veil, 
and constantly show you to yourself. Ask Him 
to keep you daily from pride. Learn to '* walk 
humbly with thy God; " for, as has been well 
said, *' He who walks humbly cannot fall, since 
he is down already. * ' Remember, too, that it is 
written, ** Pride goeth before destruction.'* 
Bend thy neck to the Saviour's gentle yoke. 
Go with Mary, and sit at the feet of Jesus, and 
** learn of Him; for He was meek and lowly in 
heart." 

How sweet and how true are the words of the 
Christian poet on this point : — 

«*The bird that soars on the highest wing 
Builds on the ground her lowly nest ; 

And she that doth most sweetly sing, 
Sings in the shade when all things rest. 

In lark and nightingale we see 

What honor hath humility. 

" When Mary chose the better part, 

She meekly sat at Jesus' feet ; 
And Lydia's gently-opened heart 

Was made for God's own temple meet. 
Fairest and best adorned is she 
Whose clothing is humility. 



126 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

** The saint that wears heaven's brightest crown 

In deepest adoration bends ; 
The weight of glory bows him down 

Then most, when most his soul ascends. 
Nearest the throne itself must be 
The footstool of humility." 

The process by which God teaches us humil- 
ity is sometimes a most painful one. It must 
be so. For the cutting down and crushing of 
pride is a severe work. There are hours when 
the soul of the believer is made to smart 
bitterly. But when he is thus taken down into 
the valley of humiliation, much salutary truth 
is learnt, which would not otherwise come home 
to the heart. Grace abounds in that valley ; 
and he comes out of it more lowly, but more 
happy — more distrustful of himself, but more 
full of confidence, as he looks out of himself 
to his God. 

2. Evil Temper is another form in which 
the corruption of our hearts will break out. 
Disliking to be contradicted, hastiness and im- 
patience with those about us, moroseness and 
sullenness — all these are so many symptoms of 
that disease which lurks in our fallen nature. 
But it is quite impossible for us to enjoy happi- 
ness as long as they are allowed to exist there. 

There are few things which make a man 
more thoroughly wretched than an unruly 
temper. He becomes a perfect misery, both to 



DANGERS FROM WITHIN, 127 

himself and to those who are living with him. 
And, of course, while this is the case, God's 
work of grace cannot be prospering in his soul. 
He may love to hear the truth, and he may 
wish to follow it ; but no sooner does he take 
a step in advance, than some fit of unconquered 
temper throws him back ; and he immediately 
feels that he has sinned against God and 
separated himself from Him. 

We often hear a person say, ^' My temper is 
naturally bad ;** as if this was a sufficient excuse 
for giving way to sin. We are apt to lay as 
much blame upon nature as we can. It is true 
that some are born more amiable and gentle 
than others. But, certainly, no one has a 
temper so naturally good, that it needs no sub- 
duing; or a temper so naturally bad, that it 
cannot, by God's grace, be changed. 

You are sometimes discouraged, it may be, 
in your attempt to correct a quick, irritable, 
and bad temper. But no : make it a matter of 
conscience ; look upon it as a part of the great 
work you have to do ; and never rest till it is 
accomplished. Entreat God to help you ; and 
you will in the end gain the victory. No doubt, 
you will have many a hard fight ; but. success 
will be sure to follow the effort. You have this 
precious promise to encourage you. '^ Sin shall 
not have dominion over you ; for ye are not 
under the law, but under grace." Rom, vi. 14. 

Begin, then, in earnest, if you have not 



128 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

begun already. And never give up the struggle, 
till you have mastered this enemy. Think 
not, however, to overcome it in your own un- 
assisted strength, but by God's help, and by 
the power of his Holy Spirit. Determine to 
conquer this evil ; for it is hateful in any one, 
but peculiarly hateful in a child of God. He, 
of all men, should be loving, and gentle, 
and forbearing. He should ''suffer long, and 
be kind.*' And it should be seen that grace 
has softened his character, as well as his heart. 
Now, is there any one point in which your 
temper is wont to show itself? Is there any 
one thing which tries you more than another? 
Does your Parent require something of you 
which you may think a little unnecessary, and 
does a feeling of sullenness or of impatience 
spring up within you ? Or does the wayward- 
ness of your child irritate you ? Or does the 
conduct of your neighbor vex you ? Or 
the unreasonableness of your master or mis- 
tress ? Or the disobedience of your servant? 
Take that one particular temptation, and in 
God's strength try to get the mastery over it. 
If you succeed, how happy you will be ! You 
will have an immediate reward. For is there 
not an inward pleasure in having done that 
which a Christian ought to do ? Is there not 
happiness in the thought, that you have 
checked some wrong feeling, that was just 
ready to spring up within you — that you have 



DANGERS FROM WITHIN, 129 

hushed some storm, that was on the very point 
of bursting forth ? Truly this is gaining what 
the word of God declares to be the greatest of 
victories. '' He that is slow to anger is 
better than the mighty ; and he that ruleth his 
spirit than he that taketh a city/' Proverbs 
xvi. 32. 

It is said of the famous astronomer, Sir Isaac 
Newton, that he had a favorite little dog, named 
Diamond. Being one evening called out of his 
study into the next room, Diamond was left 
behind. When Sir Isaac returned, having been 
absent but a few minutes, he had the mortifi- 
cation to find that Diamond had overturned a 
lighted candle among some papers which had 
cost him many years' labor. The papers were in 
flames, and almost reduced to ashes. This loss, 
especially at Newton's great age, was irrep- 
arable. But, without at all punishing the dog, 
he merely exclaimed, ^*0 Diamond, Diamond, 
you little know the mischief you have done." 

Reader, what would you have done in these 
circumstances? The great Newton was above 
losing his temper. Are you above this frailty ? 
Let nothing rob you of your self-control. Let 
the peace of God be ever ruling within you, 
'^keeping your heart and mind, " and preserv- 
ing you calm and unruffled even under the most 
trying circumstances. 

3. Another dangerous fault which often 
9 



I30 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

makes its appearance, especially in young con- 
verts, is Uncharitableness. A person who has 
only lately been awakened is very apt to judge 
a little severely, and to speak a little harshly, of 
those who do not think and feel just as he does. 
He seems to forget the condition that he him- 
self was so lately in. And although he knows 
himself to be a monument of God's marvellous 
patience, he is himself impatient towards his 
brethren. 

Can this be right ? It is sad, indeed, to hear 
a Christian speaking against his neighbor, and 
taking upon himself to find fault with this or 
that point in his character. It plainly shows 
that he knows but little of his own heart ; or 
else he would surely be more tender of a brother, 
and more ready to condemn himself. 

It has been observed that, *^ there are some 
men who are always looking on the dark side of 
people's character ; so that one glaring fault, 
or even a single failing, will eclipse in their 
eyes a thousand excellencies." Such persons 
are forever complaining that religion makes no 
progress ; for they can see nobody around them 
who is perfect ; and therefore they come to the 
conclusion that there is very little piety in the 
world. They are disposed to take a gloomy 
view of everything, and to speak against 
everybody. 

Now, if we find ourselves indulging in such a 
spirit as this, it is a plain proof that we have 



DANGERS FROM WITHIN, 131 

but little of the mind of Christ, and that we have 
much yet to learn. For you may be sure of this 
— that where a person is disposed to think 
harshly and unkindly of others, he probably 
knows but very little of his own heart. 

To you, then, my reader, I would say — 
whenever you find yourself about to indulge in 
uncharitable remarks on your neighbor, whether 
a professing Christian or otherwise, just stop 
yourself, and say, *^ Let me have a peep at my 
own heart first." Be very careful to avoid this 
fault. It is a most hateful one to fall into, and 
even the world condemns it. May we not 
ourselves have some grievous failings, which are 
hidden even from our nearest friends, and which 
are known only to God ? And if these were 
brought out to light, would they not condemn 
us ? Oh, then, let us deal very tenderly with 
our brother, and make every allowance for him. 
It is better, far better, to be as the lark that is 
ever rising upwards, and hovers wistfully over 
her own little nest, than as the quick-eyed eagle, 
which pounces so eagerly on its prey. 

Let us take this for a rule— and a golden rule 
it is — to speak but little of others, and but little 
of ourselves ; and also to be very backward in 
saying anything of a neighbor, unless we have 
something good to say of him. Let the world, if 
it will, be open-mouthed in its harsh judgments. 
Let it be eagle-eyed in discovering faults and 
blemishes in others. But let us be anxious to 



132 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

look at home — remembering that good man's 
resolution who said, that ** whenever he spied 
a fault in his neighbor, he was determined to 
look for two in himself" — remembering also 
our Lord's precepts: ** Judge not, that ye be 
not judged ; " ^* First cast out the beam out of 
thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly 
to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.'* 
Matt, vii. I, 5. Let us seek to have much of 
that Christian charity, or love, which **cov- 
ereth a multitude of sins," — that is, which de- 
lights rather to cloak them over, than to expose 
them to view. If such is our spirit we shall, I 
am sure, be much happier and more useful, and 
we shall much more ^' adorn the doctrine of God 
our Saviour." 

I have often thought, that it would be well 
if every Christian made it a rule to read over, 
two or three times in every year, that beautiful 
lesson on Christian charity which is contained 
in I Cor. xiii. 

4. Selfishness is another evil root, which 
grows naturally in the soil of man's heart, and 
chokes the beautiful seeds of grace as they spring 
up. Of this, too, the heart must be cleared. 
Worldly men are mostly selfish. Why are they 
so eager after pleasure ? It is to gratify self. 
Why do they make money their pursuit ? It is 
to enrich self The comfort, the advancement. 



DANGERS FROM WITHIN. 133 

the well-being of self is the one great end for 
which they live. 

'* Every naan for himself,'' is a maxim which 
we hear very commonly from the lips of worldly 
men. But how utterly opposed is this to the 
spirit of the Gospel ! There we are taught the 
very opposite principle — ^' Let no man seek his 
own, but every man another's wealth, " or 
welfare, i Cor. x. 24. The Christian should 
live no longer to himself, but unto Him who re- 
deemed him. He has been *^ bought with a 
price; " and therefore he is no longer his own, 
but God's. He should lay himself out for the 
glory of God, and for the good of his fellow- 
creatures. He should be ^;2selfish. 

How blest will your life be, if thus spent — 
not seeking merely your own happiness, but 
trying to make others happy, and to do others 
good — not selfishly asking, ** How can I secure 
my own interests in the world?" but '' How can 
I live to God?" *^ What can I do for Him?" 
** How can I add to the happiness of my 
neighbor, my friend, or my brother?" Oh, 
this is blessedness indeed ! An unselfish spirit 
has its own reward. The feeling that we are 
denying ourselves for the sake of others — the 
hope that by a little effort we may be of use to 
our brethren — the yielding up of something that 
we may have set our hearts upon, in order that 
we may do some act of kindness to a neighbor or 
a friend, is in itself delightful. It may cost 



134 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

US something : but who can tell what a plentiful 
harvest of joy the heart is sure to gather by it ? 
** Look not every man on his own things, but 
every man also on the things of others." Phil, 
ii. 4. This was the Apostle's rule, and let it 
\it your rule likewise. Ask yourself if there is 
any one of your fellow-creatures, to whom you 
may be spiritually useful ; or any one in want, 
whom you may relieve ; or in distress, whom 
you may comfort. And though you maybe in 
very humble circumstances, there are many 
ways in which you may be useful. Only beg of 
God to give you the heart to feel, and the will 
to act, and you may be a real blessing to many. 

5. About IDLENESS I haveafew words to say. 
The Christian should be an active and diligent 
man. There is a great work to be done for 
God^ and \ox your soul ; and, if you would do 
it, there is no time to be lost. Sin is to be 
overcome. An evil nature is to be subdued. 
Holiness is to be attained. Heaven is to be 
won. Then be earnest in the matter. ** The 
kingdom of heaven suifereth violence, and the 
violent (that is, the earnest) take it by force." 
Matt. xi. 12. Too many of our days have 
been frittered away; then let us ^'redeem the 
time" that yet remains. Was St. Paul idle? 
Let him speak for himself; ''This one thing 
I do, forgetting those things which are behind, 
and reaching forth unto those things which are 



DANGERS FROM WITHIN, 135 

before, I press toward the mark,^^ PhiL iii. 

I3vi4. 

One likes to see a Christian man earnest, 
too, even in worldly things. Is he a magistrate ? 
Let him be an active magistrate. Is he 
a farmer? Let him not allow the weeds to 
grow under his feet. Is he engaged in any 
business? Let him undertake it heartily. Is 
he a servant ? Let him be an active, diligent, 
and faithful servant. Is he a laborer? Let 
him be an industrious laborer, not work- 
ing merely when the master's eye is upon 
him, but when no one sees him but God. 
Whatever he takes up should be accomplished 
with zeal. It should be done heartily, and it 
should be done well. ** Whatsoever (says 
Solomon) thy hand findeth to do, do it with 
thy mighty EccL ix. 10. 

We should be very watchful about wasting 
our time. Our time is more valuable to us 
than even our money \ for, when once gone, it 
cannot be recovered. Are you making the 
most of it ? Are you laying it out for God ? 
Are you spending every moment, as one who 
must give an account ? Are you gathering up 
every little fragment of time, that nothing be 
lost ? How much, in this respect, may be 
gained by a little arrangement ! Just as we 
see some thrifty persons making a few shillings 
go as far as others can make as many pounds 



136 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

go ; so it is with our time — by a careful hus- 
banding of it we may do great things. 

But remember, you may waste your time, 
and yet be busy. There is such a thing as a 
busy idleness. You may seem to be actively 
engaged ; and yet, in fact, be doing nothing all 
the while. You may be employing yourself 
about the veriest trifles ; and all the while be 
neglecting matters of great importance. You 
may be busy about the world ; and yet be 
leaving the things of God undone. Happy 
those who are ever acting upon the Apostle's 
motto, '*Not slothful in business, fervent in 
spirit, serving the Lord." 

Here I must throw in a word about early 
rising. I look upon this almost as a Christian 
duty; at least, where there is no impediment in 
the way. And I am persuaded that it tends 
not a little to our health, comfort, and use- 
fulness. That hour which is redeemed from 
sleep, in the very prime of the day, is far more 
precious than any other. No time is so valu- 
able for devotion ; and at no hour is the mind 
so alert for any active employment. 

Make up your mind, dear reader, to be an 
early riser; you will soon find that you are 
abundantly repaid for any little effort it may 
cost you. 

And let me specially urge you to cultivate, 
also, a habit o{ punctuality . Let it be a matter 
of conscience with you never to be late for any- 



DANGERS FROM WITHIN. 137 

thing, and never to act as one in a hurry. 
It was said of an eminent Christian minister, 
that his mind was so well regulated, that, 
although his engagements were often numerous 
and pressing, he never seemed to be hurried, but 
always calm, and that this could be traced even 
in so small a matter as his handwriting. Every- 
thing he did was done quietly, and without 
bustle. 

Let such regularity and order show itself 
in all you do. If you have an engagement 
with a neighbor for a certain hour, be at your 
post at that hour ; otherwise you may be 
robbing him of the time he can ill spare, as 
well as disturbing your own plans. Or, if you 
have a duty to perform, do not put it off, but let 
it be discharged without delay. Or, if you have 
a payment to make, let it be made, if possi- 
ble, at the time fixed. 

It is possible y however, for a methodical per- 
son to carry his rules too far; when, for in- 
stance, he becomes irritable, if his regular 
habits are at all broken in upon ; or when he is 
vexed, if others are not as orderly as himself. 
Plans and rules are excellent things — but, as 
has been well said, ^' they should be made of 
leather^ not of stone. ' ' 

It is in these little things, as well as in great 
things, that the Christian's character shines 
forth ; and by them it is plainly seen that he 
desires to do all to God's glory. 



138 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

I cannot finish this chapter without observ- 
ing, that any Bad Habits which we may have 
once formed will, if let alone, prove to be 
great impediments to us in our Christian career. 
They have been allowed, perhaps, to grow up 
with our growth, and have almost become part 
of ourselves. And, now that we desire to 
follow Christ, they are still ready to cling to us, 
and we find it hard, very hard, to shake them off. 

This is indeed a sore let and hindrance to 
us in our spiritual race. *^ Suppose you were 
compelled to wear an iron collar about your 
neck through life, or a chain upon your ankle, 
would it not be a burden every day and hour of 
your existence? You would rise in the morn- 
ing a prisoner to your chain ; you would lie 
down at night weary with your burden ; and 
you would groan the more deeply, as you 
reflected that there was no shaking it off/' 

And is it less miserable to be tied, and 
bound, and hampered by some bad habit which 
clogs us and keeps us back, when we would be 
going forward ? If you feel this, oh ! lose not 
a moment in trying to disencumber yourself. 
Be constantly making war against that habit, 
whatever it may be. 

And here, since the heart is so treacherous 
and deceitful, that it will often shelter itself 
under a willing ignorance of what its besetting 
sins and dangers may be, let me name a few 
bad habits, by one or more of which it is 



DANGERS FROM WITHIN. 139 

possible you may be entangled, leaving it to 
your own conscience to make the application : — 

A habit of wasting time in idle gossip ; 

A habit of listlessness when reading God's 
word ; 

A habit of slothfulness, and indulgence in 
sleep, and so hurrying over the morning devo- 
tions ; 

A habit of putting off what ought to be done 
at the moment ; 

A habit of disputing and contradicting ; 

A habit of exaggerating and coloring re- 
ports when you repeat them ; 

A habit of allowing your eyes and thoughts 
to wander when in the house of God ; 

A habit of peevish fretfulness, when we 
ought to be contented and thankful ; 

A habit of *' building castles in the air; '* 

A habit of spying out the faults and imper- 
fections of others. 

Here, then, I have mentioned a few Bad 
Habits : others will readily occur to you. Per- 
haps some one of them may have long proved a 
snare to you. It may cling very tightly, and 
you may fancy that it is almost impossible to 
shake it off. But, if you would grow in grace, 
it must be parted with. That sin, though it be 
but a little one, will hinder you in your course. 
Your usefulness is marred by it. Your advance 
is checked by it. It is true, you can never 
release yourself, if you rely upon your own 



I40 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

power. But God will supply you with strength, . 
in answer to your earnest prayer. And He will 
make you to feel in your own case the truth of 
those words, ** I can do all things through 
Christ who strengtheneth me.'* Phil, iv, 13. 
Now, try this. Bring your bad habit, what- 
ever it be, before God. Tell Him that it 
greatly troubles you, and that you earnestly 
desire to master it. Ask Him to give you 
special help for this special purpose. Only 
make the trial, and I am sure you will find 
this one of the great secrets of growth in 
grace. 



CHAPTER X. 

TEMPTATIONS OF SATAN. 

Many of the dangers mentioned in the last 
chapter arise from the actual assaults of Satan, 
of which I am now going to speak more espe- 
cially. It is often difficult to distinguish be- 
tween a direct temptation of the Devil and the 
natural inclinations of our own evil hearts. 
The fact is that the two usually work together. 
Our wicked hearts desire a thing that is sinful ; 
and then Satan, who carefully studies the 
heart, takes advantage of us, and thrusts sin 
in our way. We lay ourselves open ; and 
then he attacks us. The soil is prepared by 
ourselves ; and then he casts in the evil seed. 
If we were pure and holy within, his tempta- 
tions would be all in vain j they would fly over 
us, and we should be unhurt. But we are 
naturally disposed to what is evil. Our hearts 
are like a fire, in which the spark of sin is 
smouldering, and the Evil Spirit is ever blow- 
ing up the flame within us. Temptation first 
finds a man corrupt, and then makes him 
worse. For, alas ! there is not one among us 
who can say, as our sinless Lord said, *' The 

(141) 



142 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

Prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing 
in me.*' 

That there is such a being as Satan is very 
clear from Scripture, even if our own experi- 
ence did not tell us so. He is there described 
as a fallen angel, an evil spirit, who is ever 
employed in plotting and planning our spiritual 
ruin. He is spoken of as tempting Adam and 
Eve in Paradise, Gen. iii.; as provoking David 
to sin against God, by numbering Israel, 
I Chron. xxi. i ; as trying to make Job rebel 
against God, y^^^i. ii; ii. 5; as entering into 
the heart of the traitor Judas, and leading him 
to become the betrayer of his heavenly Master, 
Luke xxii. 3 ; as filling the heart of Ananias, 
and inducing him to lie against the Holy 
Gho^t. Acts V. 3. 

And, most assuredly, he will attack you. 
Now, more than ever, he desires the ruin 
of your soul. When you were asleep, he 
cared not to arouse you. He then let you 
alone. **The strong man armed *' kept the 
palace, and '* the goods were in peace. *' All 
was as he would have it. He was quite satisfied 
with your condition. But, now, if he sees 
that through God's mercy you are awake, 
and anxious to be saved, he will leave no 
means untried to draw your soul away from 
God. 

I put you, then, upon your guard. '^Be 
vigilant, (or watchful ;) because your adver- 



TEMPTATIONS OF SATAN, 143 

sary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh 
about seeking whom he may devour. '* i Pet, v. 
8. Expect his temptations. Be always on the 
look-out for them. They will come to you in 
ten thousand shapes. 

For instance, he tempts one man by riches, 
and another by poverty. He suggests to one 
man hard thoughts of God. Another he puffs 
up with self-esteem. Sometimes he entices us 
openly; at other times secretly. He attacks 
one man when alone ; a second he tempts 
when in company ; a third upon his knees ; a 
fourth whilst reading the word of God, or 
even in the house of God. Thus he suits his 
temptations to our several cases. He knows 
that what will be a temptation to one man will 
be no temptation to another ; and that what 
would be a strong temptation at one time will 
be utterly powerless at another time. 

In your case, for example, he is quite aware 
that the temptation, which took effect upon 
you a while ago, would fall harmless upon you 
now. So he changes it. Perhaps he once 
tried to persuade you that it was too soon to 
repent — that there was time enough yet. Now^ 
it may be, he throws in the thought that your 
repentance is too late. He formerly led you to 
hope that all would come right at last, though 
you were then living without God. And now 
he harasses you at times with the feeling that 



144 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

there is no hope for you, though you earnestly 
desire to be saved. 

There are peculiar temptations, too, which 
beset each person. Into some you are much 
more liable to fall than into others. Some 
will meet you in one place, and some in 
another; some in one shape, and some in 
another. It is very important to know where 
you are most exposed to temptation, and at 
those points to set a strong and watchful 
guard. 

With regard to temptation generally, it may 
be observed, that it is better to avoid it than 
to face it. A writer on this subject remarks : 
*' At some particular time of the day, or in 
some particular situations, you find yourself 
exposed to debasing and corrupting thoughts. 
They fill your mind, and crowd out everything 
that is good. These temptations arise only 
when you are alone, or when you are convers- 
ing on some particular subjects, or when some- 
thing is recalled by the memory. Can you 
hope to conquer these * legions,' and drive 
away all these * unclean birds,* by any other 
means than by fleeing from them? As there 
are some evil spirits, which, it is said, cannot 
be cast out except ^ by prayer and fasting,' 
so these can be overcome only by avoiding 
and resisting them, when they approach the 
heart ; or by the most sincere prayer, when 



TEMPTATIONS OF SATAN, 145 

they have entered it. If Peter be naturally im- 
petuous, ought he not to leave his sword be- 
hind him ? Should Judas carry the bag, when 
he has fully proved to himself that he cannot 
do it without stealing from it ! Should a pas- 
sionate man, whose temper is easily excited, 
throw himself into situations in which he will 
certainly be tempted to anger? Whatever be 
your weakness, or the spot at which you fall, 
beware of it, and shun it.'* 

You see, then, in how many ways our great 
enemy attacks us. He is strong \ but, thank 
God, there is One stronger. He can tempt us 
to sin, but he cannot force us to sin. And 
when we consider the violence and subtlety of 
his temptations, what an unspeakable mercy it 
is, that he can do no more than tempt us ! We 
are weak and powerless in ourselves ; but God 
stands ever ready to strengthen and uphold us. 
** He will, with the temptation, also make a 
way to escape. '* i Cor. x. 13. 

And, oh, how often does He, our ever- 
watchful Guardian, shelter us without our 
knowing it ! Satan has, perhaps, spread his 
net for us, and has, as it were, made it of so 
curious and fine a thread, as not to be seen by 
our eye : and so we go on surely treading on 
to our ruin. But suddenly the mercy of God's 
providence stops us in our course, and pulls 
back our foot from the fatal snare. 
10 



146 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

Truly we are secure, only so long as we are 
in God's safe-keeping. If we have not in- 
trusted ourselves to Him, then are we like a 
ship sailing without a pilot, amidst hidden 
rocks; and we may at any moment be 
wrecked. 

The Lord gives us, in St. James iv. 7, both a 
Command which shows us what our duty is, 
and also a Promise to encourage us, — '^Resist 
the devil, and he will flee from you.'' 

The Command of God, you see^ is, ^' Resist 
the devil." And it is your wisdom to set 
about obeying this command. To tempt is 
the devil's work : to resist is the Christian's 
duty. It is very important to resist the first 
motions of evil. When a temptation comes, 
look up to God instantly for strength; if you 
parley with the tempter, you are lost. Mark 
carefully the steps by which Eve was ensnared. 
First, she stood near the forbidden tree. Then, 
when Satan proposed to her to eat of it, she 
argued with him. Then she looked at the fruit, 
and **saw that it was good for food, and pleas- 
ant to the eyes." The temptation gained 
upon her, and she presently touched it. And 
at last she finished by eating it. St. Paul 
charges us not to ** give place to the devil." 
Oh, let us not yield a single point to him. We 
know that a beggar, who may seem to be 
very modest out of doors, will, if once let in, 
command the house. And so, if we yield only 



TEMPTATIONS OF SATAN. 147 

a little to the tempter at first, we are, in fact, 
giving away our strength, and shall have the 
less to resist him afterwards. *' When the hem 
is torn, the whole garment is nearly sure to 
ravel out.'* 

It has been said of the cuckoo, that she en- 
ters the sparrow's nest, and there lays her ^gg. 
And the poor little owner unconsciously warms 
it into life, to the destruction of her own 
brood, which the usurper in the end thrusts out 
of the nest. So a temptation may be allowed 
to nestle in the heart for a time, undisturbed 
and unfeared, until it ends by thrusting out all 
peace, and joy, and comfort, from the soul. 

Now, if you would keep the devil out of your 
life and actions, you must keep him out of your 
thoughts and desires ; for that is where he com- 
monly begins to enter. If you would conquer 
sin, you must nip it in the bud, and not wait 
till it is fully formed within you. Have you 
not sometimes suffered your thoughts to dwell 
on some sinful object, and to brood upon it 
with delight, picturing it to yourself under its 
most pleasing forms ? This is most dangerous. 
When a temptation gets thus far, it rarely hap- 
pens that it is stopped. Hear what the wise 
apostle says : — ** Every man is tempted, when 
he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. 
Then, when lust hath conceived, it bringeth 
forth sin ; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth 
forth death. "yb^/^^j" i. 14, 15. You are tempted 



148 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

to sin, and you are quite resolved not to be led 
into it. But you, perhaps, like to please your- 
self a little while with the thought. You have 
no intention of actually committing the sin ; 
but you think that you may play with it a little, 
as it were, and yet remain unhurt. And what 
is the consequence? It either ends in your 
committing the sin, or else your soul is injured 
by the nearness of it : it becomes weakened 
and unstrung; God is driven away; and your 
peace is gone. 

Oh ! how long does the effect of one single 
act of sin stand by us 1 The sin may be put 
away, but, like the snail, it leaves a slimy track 
behind it. When the Israelites had worshipped 
the golden calf, and so offended God, Moses 
prayed for them, and they were spared. But 
they did not go altogether unpunished. It 
was a common saying ever after, among the 
Jewish writers, that never did any judgment 
befall the children of Israel from that time 
forward, but '^ there was an ounce of the 
golden calf in it." 

Again, remember that many of those temp- 
tations which do not appear to be very glaring 
are frequently the most dangerous. Satan very 
often puts a gloss upon sin, and makes it look 
fair ; for we are told that he will, sometimes, 
if it suits his purpose, * transform himself into 
an angel of light." 2 Cor. xi. 14. And 
then, at other times, he will try to conceal 



TEMPTATIONS OF SATAN. 149 

from us the greatness of a sin. He whispers 
in our ear, '' Spare it ; it is but a little one.'* 
And so we slight and trifle with the tempta- 
tion, and think but lightly of it, because we 
are not really persuaded that there can be 
much evil at the bottom of that which looks 
so fair at top. Or, if this will not do, he 
will appear only to desire that its execution 
may be stayed a while, as Jephthah's daughter, 
when she said, *'Let me alone a month or two, 
and then do to me according to that which 
hath proceeded out of thy mouth'* — well 
knowing that such reprieved sins at last obtain 
their full liberty. 

Or, he will set things before you, which are 
not sinful in themselves, but which lead to sin. 
He will draw you into some pleasant path, as 
it were, where you may see nothing to alarm 
you, where you may even find some things 
that are good. But he will gently and gradu- 
ally lead you on, till he has brought you, with- 
out knowing it, to the very edge of the pit of 
destruction. 

Again, if he finds you fond of any particular 
occupation, which in itself is not only harm- 
less, but even desirable, he will endeavor to 
make you give up your whole heart to it. 

In short, any expedient will he resort to, in 
order to draw away your mind from the great 
object of life. I mention this to put you on 
your guard. 



ISO THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

Let me now counsel you on another point — 
it is to avoid disputed and doubtful questions. 
The devil often endeavors to entrap and per- 
plex the thoughtful with this snare. When he 
sees them concerned about their souls, and in- 
terested in religion, he confuses them in this 
way, and so draws off their attention from the 
all-important matter. Do not, if you can pos- 
sibly avoid it, have anything to do with curious 
questions which ** do gender strifes. '* But be 
content to dwell chiefly on those great and 
simple truths which concern your salvation. 

Gurnal, from whom I have taken more than 
one idea in this chapter, calls this ^' keeping the 
plains.^^ And so long as we do this, we are 
safe. When one army attacks another, they 
often try to get the enemy hemmed in between 
hills, or in some ground where they are at a 
disadvantage. Thus the Egyptians were hoping 
to say of their enemies, the Israelites, ** They 
are entangled in the land ; the wilderness hath 
shut them in. *' Exod. xiv. 3. 

And so your enemy will seek to en tangle jVi^«. 
He will lead you, if possible, to dwell upon 
difficult texts and hard passages of Scripture. 
He will get you to discuss disputed points of 
doctrine, to argue about Calvinism, and Ar- 
minianism, or about some disputed Church 
question ; and so, if he possibly can, he will 
call off your attention from those matters in 



TEMPTATIONS OF SATAN. 151 

which your soul is more deeply interested. But, 
if you are wise, you will keep to the plains. 

Again, serious persons sometimes puzzle 
themselves to find a reason for God's particular 
dealings with them. They want to discover a 
why and a ivherefore for all He does. But no ; 
if you are His child, you must be content with 
what your Father allots ; and what you '* know 
not now,'* you shall *^know hereafter." Let 
me again remind you of Gurnal's advice — 
^^Keep to the plains.'^ Do not try to dive into 
mysteries. ** ^\i^ secret things belong unto the 
Lord ; but those things which are revealed 
belong unto us and to our children." Deut, 
xxix. 29. 

Time back, when you were very young, did 
not your parents bid you do many things, without 
giving you their reasons for the command ? You 
could not then understand why they would have 
you do this, or abstain from that. But your 
duty was clear — simply to obey their directions, 
though you had no idea why they were given. 
And so should it be with regard to God's deal- 
ings with you. It matters little to know why He 
acts in this or that way towards you : it is your 
duty and your happiness, simply and without a 
murmur, to bow to His almighty will. 

Bat of all temptations, none is more dreadful 
than when Satan tempts us with unbelieving 
thoughts. And he does sometimes attack God's 
children in this way. Yes, my dear Christian 



152 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

reader, he may by this particular temptation 
assault you. You may be tempted to doubt 
whether the Scripture is the word of God, and 
whether Christ is the Son of God, and whether 
there be a heaven or a hell. This temptation 
is very likely to prevail with those who are un- 
settled in the faith, and still more with those 
who have only a head-knowledge of the Gospel. 
But any one who has received God's word *^ in 
the love of it," and has tasted it as the very 
food of his soul, will be so persuaded of its 
preciousness, that nothing will shake his faith 
in it. He will *^ have the witness in himself." 
Suppose a minister were to tell his congregation 
that in some distant country there was a fruit 
sweeter than honey, they would most probably 
believe it on his testimony. But if one of the 
congregation had been there and tasted it, he 
would have a still stronger ground for believing 
it. In this state of things, suppose another 
was to come forward, and stoutly deny that there 
was any such fruit. Those who believed it on 
the word of their minister might begin to doubt, 
in a greater or less degree, according to the 
trust they placed in him. But what would be 
the case with those who had actually tasted of 
the fruit ? They would say, *^ Oh, you may talk, 
and it may seem very reasonable ; but though I 
cannot argue the matter with you, I know that 
you are wrong." So is it with those who have 
^'tasted and seen that the Lord is gracious." 



TEMPTATIONS OF SATAN. 153 

Such a temptation may assail us, even if we 
are God's children. And this may arise either 
from the weakness of our faith, which at best is 
but very small, and may for a season break 
down ; or from conversing with some infidel ; 
or from reading some bad book ; or you may 
be ill in body, and Satan may take advantage 
of this to molest your mind with blasphemous 
temptations. He is sometimes desperate, and 
uses desperate means to draw us aside. Now, 
in such a case, if you abhor the suggestion, it 
is well ; and as long as you do abhor it, it will 
not condemn you. Instantly betake yourself to 
prayer. Wrestle with God. Humble yourself 
before Him. Entreat Him to root out the '^ evil 
heart of unbelief,'* and to give you that faith 
which can come only from him. Treat it as a 
temptation, and meet it in God's strength. See 
that you are building on a sound foundation, 
and that you are resting firmly upon it. And 
then, if there be any shading, \\-\om<^ you your- 
self m2.y be moved for a moment, your founda- 
tion will remain sure. It will only be as the 
reeling of the vessel safe at anchor, and not as 
the perilous dashing against the ruinous rocks. 

But with regard to the resistance of tempta- 
tion, remember that this is not done in an hour 
or a day. It is the work of a whole life — one 
continued warfare against sin. The power of 
temptation is felt more or less by every child 
of God, who '* is passed from death unto life.** 



154 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY 

And never will you be entirely beyond the reach 
of it, as long as you remain here. 

But have you not many a Promise to en- 
courage you? You are commanded, as I have 
shown you, to '* resist the devil ; ** and with the 
Command com.es the gracious Promise, '^ and 
he will flee from you.** The moment you feel 
yourself tempted, or likely to be so, look up to 
a prayer-hearing God, and He will come to 
your help. Hide yourself under the shelter of 
His wings. '* When the enemy shall come in 
like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up 
a standard against him." Isa. lix. 19. Your 
poor weak flesh may be ready to give way ; but 
call to mind the words of Jesus to his tempted 
disciple : '* Satan hath desired to have you, that 
he may sift you as wheat ; but / have prayed 
for thee that thy faith fail not.'* Luke xxii. 

31. 3?- 

This promise, however, will not hold good, 
if you put yourself in the way of temptation. 
For are you strong enough to stand against it? 
You may think so : but you are as little proof 
against it, as tinder is proof against the sparks 
which fall into it. Oh, if you love your soul, 
keep at a sufficient distance from the flame. 
Do you not daily pray, ''Lead us not into 
temptation**? Then beware how you wilfully 
expose yourself to it. If you really desire to 
shun the road of temptation, you are compara- 



TEMPTATIONS OF SATAN, 155 

tively safe ; but if you rush into it, and expect 
to escape unhurt, you are only deceiving your- 
self. You will be like the naan in the gospel, 
** who fell among thieves; and they stripped 
and wounded him, and left him half dead.'' 
Solomon asks, *• Can a man take fire in his 
bosom, and his clothes not be burned ? " And, 
be assured, you cannot tamper with temptation 
and come away unharmed. 

Perhaps you are at times distressed to think 
that you should be so much tempted. The 
thought has more than once come across you, 
*^ Can I be a child of God, since Satan tries me 
so much ? '' Many a tempted believer has been 
greatly exercised with this thought. But let me 
tell you a few things for your comfort. 

lL\it first is, that God's children are the very 
persons whom Satan specially attacks. And 
perhaps it is because j^'^e^ are a child of God, 
that he so tries you. 

The second is, that there is a great difference 
between being tempted^ and yielding to tempta- 
tion. Our Lord nowhere says, **Be not 
tempted;" but He does say, ^' Enter not into 
temptation. ' ' The one is our sin ; the other our 
trial. It is a sin to welcome the Tempter ; but 
it is no sin to be tried by him. The apostle 
does not say, ** Blessed is the man who is free 
from temptation, ' ' for such a man breathes not ; 
but he does say, *^ Blessed is the man that en- 



156 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

dureth iemptaiiony Joseph was tempted, and 
the holy Saviour himself was tempted ; but 
neither of them yielded. 

A //^/r^ consolation for those who are tried by 
temptations is, that Satan cannot tempt without 
God* s permission. Not one arrow can he shoot, 
not one drop of poison can he administer, unless 
God for some wise reason allows it. How is it 
in the works of nature ? We sometimes watch 
the waves of the sea, roaring and dashing 
against the beach, and seeming as though they 
would threaten an inroad upon the shore. But 
their fury is under control ; for ^* the Lord hath 
set a bound, that they may not pass over.'* 
Thus far they may go, and no farther. So hath 
he set bounds to Satan's power. ** God is 
faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted 
above that ye are able." i Cor, x. 13. 

T\\e fourth ground of comfort I will offer you 
is this — if temptation is permitted to reach you, 
it is for your good. Temptation is to faith, what 
fire is to gold. The furnace not only discovers 
the true gold from the false, but it also makes 
the true gold purer. It becomes perhaps less 
in bulk, because everything worthless has been 
severed from it, but more in value. lAz-y your 
faith grow brighter and stronger by the trial ! 
And being ^* much more precious than gold 
that perisheth, though it be tried with fire," may 
it be '* found unto praise, and honor, and glory, 
at the appearing of Jesus Christ ! " i Fet. i. 7. 



TEMPTATIONS OF SATAN, 157 

Then, be cheered and encouraged. You 
have a Saviour; and He knows well what 
temptation is ; and He can, and does, feel for 
His tempted people. *' We have not an High- 
Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling 
of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted 
like as we are, yet without sin.'* Heb. iv. 
15. Satan may lay his snares for you; but 
there is an almighty One near, who is watching 
over you, and who can shield you from all 
evil. The struggle may be severe and long. 
But if the Lord is on your side, you need not 
fear ; victory will be surely yours ; for it is 
written, *^ The God of peace shall bruise Satan 
under your feet shortly." Rom. xvi. 20, 



CHAPTER XI. 

DIFFICULTIES. 

WEAKNESS OF FAITH — A SENSE OF SINFULNESS — WAN- 
DERINGS IN PRAYER — THE DUTY OF CONFESSING 
CHRIST — PERPLEXING PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE. 

The very title of this book is encouraging, — 
The Pathway of Safety, But you will perhaps 
think that I have said so much of the Chris- 
tianas Dangers and Temptations, that I might 
well stop here, and turn to something a little 
more cheering. 

But no; such was not our Lord's method. 
He concealed not one single difficulty from 
His beloved followers. He told them all they 
would have to encounter in their Christian 
course. And with this He mingled a joyful 
assurance, that He himself was with them, to 
strengthen them with His grace, and to carry 
them safely to their journey's end. And 
should I be a faithful guide to you, if I only 
spoke to you of the happy home before you, 
and the pleasant objects by the way ; and said 
nothing of the rugged path you are now and 
then called to tread, and the toils and trials 
you may chance to meet with by the way ? 
(«S8) 



DIFFICUL TIES. 1 59 

Should I be a faithful guide, If I nxdidt the path-- 
way of safety a downhill road, and the journey 
all sunshine? Why, your own experience, 
short as it is, perhaps, will answer that ques- 
tion. It is far better that I should speak 
openly to you of your difBculties, and show 
you the best way of meeting them. 

You have difficulties of various kinds, I 
doubt not, even now, and many more you are 
sure to meet with. But before we go into par- 
ticulars, let me say a word for your comfort. 
Others have met with them before you. God's 
dearest children have met with them in abun- 
dance. Nay, more, it is good for us to meet 
with them. The softest road is not always the 
best road. It is on the smooth ice we slip : a 
rougher path is usually safer for our feet. Our 
difficulties make us watchful; they send us to 
Christ for help ; they humble us before God. 

Now, let me mention a few of these Difficul- 
ties, which are likely to perplex you. 

I. Weakness of Faith. This is what God's 
people oftentimes complain of. Perhaps when 
you first ventured your soul on Christ, you 
felt that He was all you needed, and your 
whole heart went out towards Him. There 
was an earnestness about you, which lifted you 
as it were above the world, and led you to seek 
eagerly the salvation offered to you. But now 
that the first fervor of believing is over. 



i6o THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

you find so much coldness in your faith, that you 
are at times almost ready to doubt whether it is 
faith at all. ^' Oh that I could get rid of this un- 
believing heart," is your constant complaint. 

My dear friend, it is well that you have 
begun to find out that in you *'dwelleth no 
good thing^ Your love — what is it? a poor 
and changing thing — sometimes warm and 
glowing^ and at other times cold and weak ! 
Your obedience — how scanty ! Your faith — 
how weak and doubting ! So it was with St. 
Peter. At one moment his faith was so strong, 
that he prayed, ^' Lord, bid me come unto thee 
on the water." And a few minutes after it 
was so weak, that a little wind terrified him, 
and he cried out, '^Lord, save me." We find 
him one day exclaiming, *^Lord, I am ready 
to go with thee both into prison and to death." 
And yet that very night he played the coward's 
part, and denied his Lord. 

Learn, then, that everything on your part 
is worthless and defective : all on the Lord's 
part is full and perfect. Remember, it is not 
our Faith, but Christ, that saves us. Yes, He 
must save you in spite of all your weakness, or 
you must be lost. 

But this littleness of faith distresses you. 
And yet that was no grief to you once. You 
had no misgivings then about your trust in 
Christ, because you had no trust at all. You 
once thought it easy to believe ; for the only 



DIFFICUL TIES, 1 6i 

belief you knew of was a cold assent to the 
truths of the gospel, and a bare acknowledg- 
ment that Christ was your Saviour, but nothing 
more. This was easy enough ; there was no 
heartwork in this. But now you feel faith 
to be a very difficult thing. The fact is, that 
when a man first endeavors really to believe 
at all, he discovers that this is beyond his 
power. And then he finds out to his sore 
grief the hardness and unbelief of his heart. 
He earnestly desires to draw nearer to Christ, 
and to trust Him ; but he discovers that what 
he formerly took for faith is utterly worthless — 
it deserves not the name of faith. 

Then, surely, the very questioning in your 
heart is an evidence of spiritual life, and that 
God is indeed at work within you. It has 
been said, that '^no man ever truly believed 
who had never doubted.'* 

Consider from whence your faith comes. 
Not one single spark of real saving faith can 
be kindled in your heart but by God himself. 
Go then to Him day by day, and ask Him to 
give you a fresh supply. Say, '* Lord, I be- 
lieve, help thou mine unbelief.'' **Lord, in- 
crease my faith." Be constantly looking to 
Christ, and lifting your heart above this world 
of sight. The very attempt to believe will be 
good for you. As a weak limb grows stronger 
by exercise, so will your faith be strengthened 
by the very effort you make in stretching it out 



1 62 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

towards things unseen. How was it with him 
who had the withered hand ? When Jesus said 
to him, *^ Stretch forth thine hand," did he 
reply, ** I have no power to do so " ? No, he 
made a great effort to thrust it forth ; and in 
the very act of so doing, Jesus gave the needed 
strength. Matt xii. 10-13. And now I say 
to you, Go and do thou likewise. 

2. A feeling of your great sinfulness may also 
disturb you. You may say to yourself, ''I am 
too great a sinner to be saved." But, as I ob- 
served in a former chapter, the time was when 
Satan tempted you with a very different bait. 
He then persuaded you that you had no need of a 
Saviour ; that all was well with you ; that your 
soul was in health ; and so your sins gave you 
not the slightest concern. But now he is forced 
to change his ground with you. He will make 
you now feel, if he can, that you are so des- 
perately sinful that mercy cannot reach you. 
'^Ah!" you will perhaps say, *Mf my sins 
were not so grievous, Christ would save me." 
But what says the word of God ? * * Though your 
sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; 
though they be red like crimson, they shall be 
as wool." IsaiahK, 18. You may well feel that 
your sins are great. But do not let this keep 
you from the Saviour. No, my dear reader^ this 
must not be ; it should rather send you to Him. 

Or, perhaps, your feeling is that, if Jesus was 



DIFFICUL TIES, 1 63 

upon earth, you would then have some hope. 
You would go to Him, and cast yourself down 
at His feet, and entreat Him to save you. 
Listen, again, to God*s word — that word which 
is the sinner's only guide — and what does it 
say? ** Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
thou shalt be saved." Your Saviour is in 
heaven. There He sits at God's right hand. 
But He is just as able to save, and as ready to 
save, now, as He was when walking through the 
streets of Jerusalem. Believe in this unseen 
Saviour. Flee to Him in faith, and you will 
find Him waiting to receive you into the arms 
of His mercy. Saul of Tarsus believed on Him ; 
the jailer at Philippi believed ; hundreds have 
believed, and do believe, on Him ; and their 
souls are saved. You may feel that your sins 
are great and numberless ; but, great as they are, 
the power of Christ is greater. He is '* able to 
save them to the uttermost that come unto God 
by Him." Heb. vii. 25. Paul was the ^' chief 
of sinners," but he *' obtained mercy" — and 
so mayj;^^^. 

There is also another mistake which you may 
fall into. You may fancy that you must make 
yourself acceptable to Christ, by some act of 
goodness on your part, or by some course of 
preparation ; that you must, in fact, do some- 
thing, in order to make yourself worthy of 
Christ's salvation. This is Satan's device. He 
will try and persuade you to set up a ladder of 



i64 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

your own by which to climb heavenwards, and 
he will delight in seeing you toiling up it. 
But you will only be disappointed ; for your 
ladder will most surely break from under you. 
Again, you may be tempted to think that, 
by waiting a little while, you may perhaps be in 
a better condition for acceptance. Here is the 
same mistake, only under another form. And 
if Satan can but keep you from Christ, this is 
all he desires. The truth is, that, as long as 
we remain away from Christ, our condition 
only becomes worse and worse. If we were to 
wait for years, we could never make ourselves 
worthy. The only worthiness which He looks 
for, when He receives a penitent sinner, is a 
deep and contrite feeling of his own unworthi- 
ness. Would it, think you, be wise of the sick 
man who is hastening to the grave, to say, when 
it is proposed to send for the physician, 
*' No ; wait a day or two till I am better *' ? 
Would it be wise, if you had ruined yourself by 
your extravagance, and your creditors were 
making pressing demands upon you, and some 
one offered to pay all your debts, to say, ** I 
will accept your kind offer when I am a little 
better off in the world. I am now too poor to 
accept it " ? Is not the desperate nature of our 
spiritual sickness the very plea which we should 
urge for our Physician's help. Is not our 
destitution the very reason why we should apply 
for His immediate aid? And who so fit an object 



DIFFICULTIES. 165 

for the Saviour's mercy as a poor ruined sinner ? 
Who so likely to be accepted of Him as one 
who feels undone without Him ? The Publican 
did not wait. The Prodigal did not stay away 
till he felt worthy. He went with this very 
acknowledgment on his lips, *^ I am not worthy 
to be called thy son.*' 

Christ is willing to save you, not for any 
goodness or fitness in yourself, but of his own 
free grace and mercy. He is willing to save 
you just as you are — sinful, worthless, unde- 
serving. And it is those who feel this to be 
their state, who are welcome to the Saviour. 
**They that be whole," He says, '* need not a 
physician, but they that are sick, I am not 
come to call the righteous, but sinners, to re- 
pentance.'' Matt. ix. 12, 13. 

Go, then, with the full burden of your sins, 
heavy though it be, and throw yourself at the 
feet of Christ. He loves to pardon the guilty, 
and to save the lost. No sin can be too great, 
no stain too deep, but that His blood can wash 
it out. I John i. 7. Is He not the friend of 
sinners, and the Saviour of the lost ? Then He 
is the very Saviour iox you. Ask not that you 
may feel your sins less, but that you may feel 
His pardoning love more. Ask to be relieved, 
not only from the painful conviction of unfor- 
given sin, but also from its hateful power over 
you. 



l66 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

** From Calvary's cross a fountain flows, 
Of water and of blood, 
More healing thanBethesda's pool. 
Or famed Siloam's flood. 

" The dying thief rejoiced to see 
This fountain in his day ; 
And there would I, though vile as he, 
Wash all my sins away." 

3. Wandering in Prayer, Here is another 
difficulty which is peculiarly distressing to 
God's children. You are not the only one 
who has had to mourn over it. Every one who 
prays feels it at times. 

We kneel down in God's house, or in our 
own private chambers. We wish to speak to 
our Father who is in secret. And, perhaps, 
for a moment or two we really pray in earnest. 
Then, almost without being aware of it, our 
attention flags. Some thought of quite an- 
other kind springs up, uncalled for, in our 
minds. And thus we presently find ourselves 
speaking to God with our lips, whilst our 
hearts are far from Him. 

And it is very humbling to confess that 
sometimes the most trifling thoughts steal into 
our minds at such solemn moments. It is not 
that we are merely drowsy ; that would be bad 
enough. But our thoughts fly ofl" at times to 
matters of the most trivial nature. The world 
and sin still hover about us, even when we are 
upon our knees before God. 



DIFFICUL TIES. 1 67 

Now, is there any remedy for this ? I be- 
lieve there is ; and if we use it, the evil will 
grow less and less, and we shall in the end 
master it. 

First, look upon such wandering in prayer as 
a direct offence against God. Ask him to for- 
give it for Christ's sake, and to grant you 
power to resist it. 

Next, watch against it beforehand. Our 
Lord couples watchfulness and prayer to- 
gether. He says, *^ Watch and pray.'* Mark 
xiii. 33. And St. Peter says, '' Watch unto 
prayer.'* i Pet. iv. 7. Try and get your 
mind into a serious frame before you begin to 
pray. For if you rush at once from your 
worldly occupations into God's presence, you 
will be pretty sure to have your heart full of 
them all the while : thus your mind will be 
distracted ; and though your lips may pray, 
your thoughts will be roving elsewhere. 

Set a watch, too, upon your heart whilst you 
are praying. Keep before you, all the while, 
the fact that you are speaking to God, and 
that you are in his presence. Make prayer a 
real thing. You are confessing real sins. You 
are begging for real blessings. You really want 
to be heard and answered. 

In this manner you may, with God's help, 
in some measure at least, remedy the evil. I 
do not say you will entirely overcome it ; for I 
believe that few Christians, if any, have gained 



1 68 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

such perfect control over their thoughts, that 
at all times, when on their knees, they are able 
completely to shut out everything else, and to 
realize the presence of God only. But you 
may, by watchfulness and perseverance, do 
much towards keeping your mind clear of those 
worldly intruders, which so much disturb our 
devotions. 

I ought, perhaps, to mention that the power 
of keeping the heart and mind fixed in prayer 
often depends upon the state of the body. 
Hence, in the time of sickness, or of any 
bodily suffering, how difficult it is to give the 
whole mind to prayer, or to any other spiritual 
exercise ! It is a happy thing for us that God 
knows our frame, and can bear with our in- 
firmities. 

4. I shall now call your attention to another 
point, on which many who have newly entered 
the path of a Christian life find a difficulty. 
** Ought I (they ask) to declare openly the 
change in my feelings ? ' ' 

You are, perhaps, living in a worldly family. 
Those whom you are thrown among are, for 
the most part, worldly people. And such were 
you yourself lately : but now you are a candi- 
date for heaven, and you are wishing to serve 
your new Master. *' Ought I then (you will 
ask) to avoid observation, by keeping my feel- 



DIFFICULTIES, 169 

ings secret? or should I openly declare the 
change that has taken place in me? '* 

Perhaps the safest line to take will be this — 
Let men first see, by your altered conduct, 
that you are an altered person. And, then, if 
at any time you are spoken against for choos- 
ing the Lord's service, be ready to make a 
full avowal of what you feel. Bear the cross ^ 
willingly, cheerfully, and fearlessly. But let the 
confession of a holy life, if possible, come first, 
for that is something real ; and let the confes- 
sion of the lips follow. It was well said by a 
Christian of former days, named Ignatius, that 
*' It is better for a man to hold his peace and 
be, than to say he is a Christian, and fiot to be."^^ 
It becomes one in your condition to say but 
little concerning yourself. '^ Let your religion 
(as a Christian writer observes) be impressive 
by its consistency, and attractive by its amia- 
bleness. A word fitly spoken is valuable ; but, 
in general, it is better for persons to see your 
religion than to hear it : it is better to hold 
forth the truth in your life than in your 
lajiguage ; and by your temper rather than by 
your tongue. ^^ 

There are times, however, when we ought to 
speak. And if, on such occasions, you shrink 
from the cross, and are ashamed of Christ and 
His service, this is a positive sin against your 
Lord. ''The fear of man (we are told) bring- 
eth a snare.** Frov. xxix. 25. And so sure 



I70 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

as we are cowards in our Master's service, and 
yield to the fear of reproach, we shall be kept 
from doing much which becomes us as His fol- 
lowers. It is not only your duty to confess Him 
manfully and openly, but it will be your happi- 
ness too. It is often a great relief to a young 
convert to unfurl his banner, and to let his 
character, as one who seeks heaven, be no 
longer concealed. This may cost you a strug- 
gle or two. But, when it is once done — when 
the bold step is once taken — many after-diffi- 
culties disappear. 

I will give you an instance of this. A young 
naval officer of my acquaintance became a truly 
religious man. At first he was naturally a little 
shy in his intercourse with his brother-officers. 
For a time he concealed his religious feelings, 
from fear of ridicule. Frequently, however, 
his conscience told him that this was wrong, 
and that he ought to declare the change in his 
views. So there was a daily struggle, a con- 
stant compromise between right and wrong ; 
one moment a step forward, and then a step 
back, to save appearances, as though he had 
gone too far. 

Happily a circumstance occurred which de- 
livered him from this difficulty. It was the 
custom on board his ship, as it is in most, to 
have service every Sunday on deck. Now, it 
had long distressed him that, during the pray- 
ers, no one knelt. He felt it was wrong, and 



DIFFICUL TIES, 1 7 1 

the sin lay like a weight upon his mind. He 
determined, on the following Sunday, to do 
what he believed to be right, though in doing 
it he should act alone. So, when the general 
Confession was read, down he knelt. In- 
stantly a look of astonishment, as he afterwards 
told me, proceeded from every eye. He was 
now a marked man. He had lost his character 
with the worldly. He was henceforth looked 
upon as a '^ Methodist '* and a '* saint.'* He, 
no doubt, had to take up his cross, and bear 
something; but his course was now tenfold 
easier than it was before. He now came out 
in his true character, as a servant of God ; and 
many of his former difficulties vanished away. 
Whilst, however, it is your duty to make a 
manly avowal of **the good part '* which you 
have chosen, I would again caution you not 
to be too free in speaking of a change within^ 
unless your outward conduct bears some evi- 
dence of it — not to be too forward in pro- 
claiming yourself a servant of Christ, unless 
you have counted the cost, and have heartily 
entered upon His service. But when you have 
done this, when you have earnestly and de- 
cidedly chosen Christ for your Master, let 
there be no compromise, no desire to keep well 
with the world, no shrinking from a Saviour's 
cross, but a clear, bold, and upright walk in 
the heavenward path. ** Whosoever," says 
our Lord, ** shall be ashamed of me, and of 



172 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

my words, in this adulterous and sinful genera- 
tion, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed 
when he cometh in the glory of his Father 
with the holy angels/' Mark viii. 38. 

I am quite aware that there are many other 
difficulties which my Christian brother or sister 
will probably meet with in the journey to 
heaven. But I shall only mention one more. 

5. In reading Scripture, you will find many 
Difficult Passages which you cannot under- 
stand. I have already (in the tenth chapter) 
called your attention to certain disputed and 
doubtful questions^ which Satan often tries to 
busy us with ; and these I have recommended 
you altogether to avoid. But I wish now to 
speak of those passages of Scripture which are 
**hard to be understood," and iho^t difficult 
doctrines connected with God's truth, which 
must occasionally come before you. 

These may perplex you. They are like steep 
places in your journey, and you may find a 
little difficulty in getting over them. You 
will, perhaps, wish to untie every knot, and to 
have all made plain to you. But why should 
you expect this? Does not God speak to us 
there of many deep things ? And are we not 
very ignorant, even the wisest of us? How 
natural, then, that there should be much in the 
Bible beyond our reach ! 



DIFFICUL TIES, 1 73 

When you come to a difficult chapter, or a 
hard verse, and, after a careful examination of 
it, you cannot understand its meaning, leave it 
for a while. You may, perhaps, as you read 
on, meet with some other passage which will 
throw light upon it. The more you read God*s 
word, the plainer it will become to you. 

Further, I would recommend you to dwell 
chiefly on those parts of the Bible which are 
not very difficult. Let these be your favorite 
study. Try to get a simple, childlike view of 
truth, and do not puzzle yourself with the 
more difficult matters. 

It has been well said, that the best way to 
understand the difficult and mysterious doc- 
trines in the opening of St. Paul's Epistles, is 
to begin to practise those plain rules and pre- 
cepts which we find at the close of them. Set 
yourself to do them, and then you will under- 
stand more. The way to arrive at more knowl- 
edge is, to obey what you already know. ^' A 
good understanding have all they that do his 
commandments. * ' Psalm cxi . 10. 

A lady of my acquaintance once fell into 
conversation with a bricklayer. He told her 
that he was a good deal harassed about the 
doctrine of election. Her reply to him was a 
very sensible one '* When you build a house, *' 
she said, *^do you begin with the chimneys? 
Do you not first concern yourself about the 
foundation? Well, now, you are a plain, 



174 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

simple man, and you are in earnest about your 
soul. Look well to the foundation, then. Try 
and get a clear view of those great truths, 
which are plainly revealed to us. These are 
what you have chiefly to do with at present. 
Leave the high things of God for a while. 
They will all be made plain by degrees. The 
chimneys will come in their proper place.'* 
This was good and wise advice, and you, my 
reader, will do well to follow it. 

There are many doctrines of the gospel far 
beyond our reach. They are too high for our 
puny stature. They are not contrary to our 
reason, but they are above our reason. The 
doctrine of the Holy Trinity, for instance, of 
the union of the Godhead and the manhood in 
the person of Christ, &c., are matters which 
we can neither hope to understand, nor attempt 
to explain. What then ? Should we reject 
them, merely because they are beyond our com- 
prehension ? Or should we be disposed to 
murmur, because we are not as wise as God ? 
Surely not : this would be folly. Let us be 
content simply to receive them, as truths which 
God has made known to us. Let us accept 
them in humble faith ; and not attempt to 
bring them down to the level of our own shal- 
low understanding. 

Meanwhile, wait humbly upon God. Read 
patiently and prayerfully His word. And the 
promise is, that " we shall know, if we follow 



DIFFICUL TIES, 1 75 

on to know the Lord/' Hosea vi. 3. ^' The 
meek will he guide in judgment, and the meek 
will he teach his way." Fsalni xxv. 9. **If 
thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy 
voice for understanding ; if thou seekest her as 
silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; 
then shali thou understand the fear of tlie Lord, 
and find the knowledge of God ; for the Lord 
giveth wisdom." Prov, ii. 3, 4. 

Let it never trouble or surprise you that you 
sometimes meet with difficulties in Scripture. 
Rather be thankful that there is so much that 
is plain and easy. There are many dark things 
that you will never comprehend fully here. 
But the dawn will soon break, and the shadows 
flee away. All will one day be light. ^'JVow, 
says the apostle, ** we see through a glass 
darkly ; but then face to face. JVow I know in 
part ; but then shall I know even as also I am 
known." i Cor, xiii. 12. 



CHAPTER XII. 

CAUTIONS. 

TRUE AND FALSE REPENTANCE — AN UNSTABLE COURSE 
— RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT — FALSE TEACHING. 

To walk boldly along the path of life, is the 
Christian's duty and the Christian's happiness. 
But he must also '* walk circumspectly ^ As 
a religious guide, I must not only urge you 
forward, but I am bound to caution you that 
you step carefully, lest you fall by the way. 
I shall therefore hold up a beacon or two, 
which I trust may be useful to the heaven- 
bound traveller. 

The first caution I shall offer you, will be 
on the subject of Repentance, Now, *^ repent- 
ance " is a word very common in our mouths, 
but very often misunderstood. As the world 
takes it, it is a thing easily accomplished, and 
soon over. To be sorry for having done wrong 
— to leave off some of our most pressing sins — 
to attend to some duty that has been neglected 
— to resolve upon leading a better life — this 
(176) 



CAUTIONS, 177 

is the beginning and ending of the repentance 
of many. 

But, my dear reader, if God is working in 
your soul, I am very sure that your repentance 
will be something deeper than this. Think of 
past sin — the follies of your early youth, and 
those of your riper years — lost days, that cannot 
be gathered up — idle words, that cannot be 
recalled — wasted opportunities — broken vows 
and resolutions — sabbaths unimproved ! Think 
what grace you have rejected ; how often you 
have resisted convictions ; how carelessly you 
have felt towards Him who has so loved you ; 
what a mere earthly life you have led, and how 
little you have thought of that better world 
before you ! Think too, how much has been 
wrong in you, even since you fairly set your face 
Zionward ; how slowly you have opened your 
heart to Christ ; how coldly and feebly you 
have served Him ! Oh, are there not ten 
thousand thoughts that make your very heart 
bleed — ten thousand reasons why you should 
be humbled in the dust ? You are still a sinner 
before God, and undeserving in His sight. 
And though the blood of Jesus Christ can 
wash out every stain ; though there is a full 
and free, yea a present, pardon for you ; and 
though you may have an humble assurance that 
you have obtained that pardon — yet you have 
need still to mourn deeply over past transgres- 
sions. Though there is forgiveness with God, 
12 



178 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

there must be no forgiveness with you, I mean, 
you must no^ forgive yourself. It has been well 
said, that *' repentance has a sort of double 
aspect ; it looks upon things past with a weep- 
ing eye, and upon the future with a watchful 
eye/' 

Be not so anxious then to ask God to heal 
up your wound, as to probe it to the very 
bottom, even though it should give you mucli 
pain. Ask Him to grant you brokenness of 
heart, so that you may mourn over your sins 
with ** godly sorrow/' Awakened Christians 
are often so thankful for their deliverance, that 
they almost forget the pit from which the Lord 
in his mercy has brought them. They lose 
sight of their sin, in the joy of their forgive- 
ness. 

Do not mistake me. The Christian cannot 
rejoice too much, when he beholds in Christ 
all he wants. He cannot feel His saving power 
to be too great. He cannot be. too happy in 
the consciousness of being forgiven and ac- 
cepted. You need not fear to trust too entirely 
to your Saviour. He has indeed paid the 
whole of your debt — all of it, to the uttermost 
farthing. He has borne the full weight of 
your sins in His own body on the tree. He 
has placed Himself completely in your stead, 
and has shed His life-blood for you. You do 
but honor Him, then, by accepting his salva- 
tion — by believing that every sin is washed 



CAUTIONS. 179 

away — and that you are eternally saved for His 
sake. But remember, oh remember daily and 
hourly, how undeserving you are. Your 
wound is healed ; but there is the scar still. 
This thought should deeply humble you. 

Nothing passes with God for true repent- 
ance, but a thorough change of heart and life ; 
ceasing to do evil, and learning to do well. 
When we discover our sin, it is not enough to 
confess it, and to mourn over it. We must 
forsake it utterly, and put it clean away. We 
must not only stop it in our actions, but 
pursue it home to our inclinations and desires, 
and dislodge it there : otherwise it will be all 
to little purpose ; for the root being still left 
behind, it will surely shoot out again. Pray 
that you may become ^* holy as God is holy." 

Bear in mind, too, that you have daily fresh 
sins to be repented of. Your disease is forever 
breaking out anew. And you have need to go 
again and again to the cross to seek forgive- 
ness. Your life must be a life of repentance^ 
and a constant looking to Christ for fresh 
grants of pardoning mercy. 

Some may possibly call this a spirit of bond- 
age. But truly that is a blessed bondage, which 
looses us from the chain of sin and binds us 
closely to our Lord. You may be daily con- 
scious of your sinfulness, and mourn over it 
before God ; and yet you may have the fullest 
assurance of acceptance. You may be broken- 



i8o THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

hearted by reason of your unworthiness ; and 
yet you may enjoy a peace that passeth all 
understanding, from the happy knowledge that 
Christ has put away your sin. A child does 
not cease to be a child, and become a slave, 
because he feels a keen regret for every act of 
disobedience to his loving father. 

Think often of your sins, to humble you, 
and to keep you low. But also think often, 
with thankfulness, of that ** Fountain open for 
sin and for uncleanness,'' where every stain 
can be washed away. Zech, xiii. i. Then will 
you know the meaning of those words, ** Sor- 
rowful, yet alway rejoicing;'* ''Blessed are 
they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." 
2 Cor. vi. id; Matt. v. 4. 

Next, let me warn you against an Unstable 
Course. Steadfastness in religion is most im- 
portant. Without it, we shall not do God's 
wnll heartily, or be really happy in his service. 
St. Paul felt this, when he said to the 
Corinthians, ''Be ye steadfast, unmovable, 
always abounding in the work of the Lord.*' 
I Cor. XV. 58. On the other hand, the re- 
proach of Reuben was, " Unstable as water, 
thou shalt not excel." Gen. xlix. 4. And St. 
James compares the unsteadfast, or unsta- 
ble, to the sea that is tossed about by every 
wind that blows upon it. " He that wavereth 



CAUTIONS, i8i 

is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind 
and tossed.** James i. 6. 

There are some who begin well. They make 
a good start, and promise fair. The green 
leaves come out upon the tree, the blossom 
bursts forth, but no fruit comes to perfection. 
Many persons go on in this state for years. 
They seem to be well disposed, and we hope that 
they will one day show more firmness and de- 
cision. We look for fruit ; but again and 
again we are disappointed. Thus they pass 
through the world, and perhaps leave it in the 
same unsatisfactory state. And since our Lord 
has said, *'He that is not with me is against 
me,*' we tremble for their souls. 

Some again there are, who seem to have 
accepted the promises of the gospel somewhat 
too easily. The truth was placed before them 
by their parents or teachers ; and they received 
it almost as a matter of course, without any 
opposition, or any doubting. They saw it was 
from God, and they embraced it. But there 
was never any great earnestness about them — 
never any very deep work in their souls. And 
what is • the consequence ? All is shallow 
and superficial. Their repentance is too easily 
got over ; their faith is weak ; their love feeble ; 
their holiness not of a very high order. You 
talk to them of sin, and they wiHingly acknowl- 
edge that they are sinful and worthless. You 
speak to them of salvation by Christ, and they 



i82 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

agree with you that '* there is none other name 
under heaven given among men whereby we 
must be saved." They fall in with all you say; 
for they sincerely believe it to be truth. They 
cast in their lot with God's people; and we 
should be sorry to say that they are not His 
people ; but they seldom or never become 
** burning and shining lights." You find them, 
time after time, much in the same state ; and 
you cannot but see that there is a lack of ear- 
nestness and life about them. 

Let not either of these be your character, 
dear reader. There should be stability and 
decision about the Christian. He should have 
his footing firm, and not be easily '* moved 
away from the hope of the gospel." He 
should be '^ grounded and settled in the faith. " 
CoL i. 23. His character should be stable ; so 
that one may depend upon him as a religious 
man. There should be a vigor, too, about 
him, showing clearly that Christ is his hope 
and Heaven his aim. 

Of course, we can hardly expect this of one 
who has only lately been brought to the 
knowledge and service of Christ. But what I 
would wish to urge upon you is, to aim at 
being steadfast, settled, and decided in your 
course. 

Now, I know of nothing that will conduce 
more to this than going constantly to the Bible 
as the great source of all your spiritual instruc- 



CAUTIONS. 183 

tion. Learn your religion from God^ rather 
than from men. Lay your foundation on the 
solid truth contained in God's word, and not 
on mere hearsay. ^'Thus saith the Lord/* — 
let that be your warrant for every doctrine 
which you hold, and for every command which 
rules your conduct. Stand upon that ground, 
and you are safe. Let God's Book be your 
main guide. Get your knowledge of His truth 
from that fountain-head. Draw water from 
that deep well, and you will feel the precious- 
ness of every drop. Those who only get their 
religious knowledge from books, and from con- 
versation with others, are forever doubtful and 
wavering; and often they have to unlearn 
what they have learnt. But it is not so with 
the ^//^/^-Christian. Every stone of his build- 
ing has been hewn out of God's quarry ; and, 
therefore, it is solid, and will last. It may 
have cost a little more labor ; but the work 
stands. The faith of such a Christian is not 
easily shaken. I mention this, because I have 
observed that Christians in the present day are 
a little disposed to lean upon books and tracts, 
and thus to slight the word of God. They 
perhaps find the doctrines of the gospel clearly 
stated for them in some nicely-written book. 
This saves them trouble ; and so they prefer it 
to God's word. Ah ! we may get a smattering 
of truth in this way ; but this is not drawing 
water from the deep wells of salvation. Take 



i84 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

the bucket yourself, and fill it at the clear 
spring. Dig deep into the Scriptures, and 
there you will find solid gold. Thus you will 
become a sound and settled Christian. 

An unstable member of any Body is a hin- 
drance to it rather than a help. We want to 
reckon on the faithfulness and steadiness of 
those who belong to us. If I engage a laborer 
to work for me, I like to feel that he is a sure 
man. If I buy anything at a shop, I like to go 
where I can depend upon the tradesman. If a 
regiment of soldiers goes out to fight for us, 
we like to feel that we can reckon upon their 
patriotism and their bravery. Seek, then, dear 
reader, to be such a Christian, that men may 
be able to count upon your not flinching in the 
hour of trial, and not turning aside to the right 
hand or to the left. 

Another thing I must caution you against 
is Religious Excitement, Not that you can 
be too much in earnest, or be too eager in 
pressing onward to heaven. Oh! no; the fire 
will not burn too warmly : the fear is lest it 
should become slack. Be earnest ; but let 
there be a staidness and sobriety with your 
earnestness. Do not mistake mere warmth and 
excitement of the feelings for the work of the 
Spirit in the heart. The one will soon cool 
down, whilst the other will last. 

I have witnessed some painful cases of this 



CAUTIONS. 185 

kind, where the feelings have been greatly 
moved, and the heart worked up for a time into 
a state of fever-heat. And what is the conse- 
quence? Why, depression and coldness gen- 
erally follow ; the heart often sinks back into a 
state of greater deadness than ever; and the 
momentary peace it enjoyed is gone. For just 
as a fire, which is suddenly blown up into a 
flame, soon loses its brightness again, and be- 
comes duller than before, and perhaps alto- 
gether dies out : so will it ever be with that 
soul in which mere excitement is allowed to 
take the place of quiet, genuine heart-earnest- 
ness. 

It is much the same with the body. Stimu- 
lating spirits will give unusual strength for a 
moment ; but they often leave the man weaker 
than before : whereas solid, wholesome food 
gives real and lasting strength to the frame. 

You see, then, how Christians may deceive 
themselves. Be on your guard, then, lest you 
fall into this error. Do not run here and there, 
in the hope of winding yourself up to greater 
religious fervor. There is no real religion in 
this; it is worth nothing. It is only like 
counterfeit coin, which for a time may pass 
for true, but will soon be found out, and 
leave the owner poorer than ever. 

But if you desire for yourself that warmth of 
feeling, strength of faith, and liveliness of hope, 
which will really last, depend upon it you will 



l86 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

only obtain this by being much in prayer to 
God, by holding daily communion with Him, 
and by reading and meditating on His word. 
Thus He will lead you on from strength to 
strength, safely and surely. 

I would say, do not place too much depend- 
ence on mere inward feelings of any kind. 
They are very treacherous and deceitful, very 
fitful and uncertain. A person may feel 
warmly under a stirring and affecting sermon, 
and go home determined to enter heartily upon 
the work of religion ; heavenly desires may be 
kindled within him, and this world may seem, 
for the time, as nothing in his eyes. But if 
God has not touched the heart, that heart, like 
a tightly-strung bow, will fly back the moment 
the string is loosed. All his bright and happy 
feelings will pass away ; a wintry chill will 
come upon his soul ; and it will end, perhaps, 
in his having reason to doubt whether he is a 
child of God at all. 

Your religion then must not be a mere re- 
ligion of the feelings. You must have some- 
thing more solid to rest upon than the ever- 
varying pulse of your own affections. Try to 
look out of yourself to Christ, and rest upon 
Him. Rely upon what He has done for you, 
rather than upon what you may feel at the 
moment within you. Let Christ be the object 
on which your eye is fixed. So will you be 
kept in *' perfect peace,*' your ''mind stayed 



CAUTIONS, 187 

upon Him.*' Isa, xxvi. 3. For, whilst your 
feelings are like the weather-glass, constantly 
changing, He is like the sun in the heavens — 
He changeth not, but is '' the same yesterday, 
and to-day, and forever." Heb, xiii. 8. 

Before I close this subject of Cautions, I 
feel that I should say a word or two about 
being led away by False Teachers, There are 
many of them in the world, — Roman Catholics, 
for instance, and Spiritualists, Unitarians and 
Universalists, and numberless others. They 
may have a great deal to say. They may talk 
well, and thus mislead unstable souls. Beware 
of them. They will come to you with a show of 
truth. They will endeavor to unsettle your 
mind. They will very likely point out faults 
in your Church ; or they will speak slightingly 
of your minister, and try to shake your con- 
fidence in his teaching. They will perhaps 
open the Bible, and appear to base their argu- 
ments on Scripture ; so did the great enemy 
when he tempted Jesus. They will seem to 
take a great interest in you ; and they may 
really do so, for they may believe themselves to 
be right, whilst all the while they are in error. 
It was so with the Scribes and Pharisees of old : 
they ^^ compassed sea and land to make one 
proselyte ; " and no doubt theirs was an honest 
zeal, although they were ** blind leaders of the 
blind. ^' 



i88 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

Beware, then, of receiving too readily any 
new teacher who presents himself. Beware of 
accepting any doctrine, merely because it is 
plausibly set before you and because it looks 
like truth. '* Beloved, believe not every spirit, 
but try the spirits whether they are of God : 
because many false prophets are gone out into 
the world." i John iv. i. 

The best safeguard in such cases is to be 
firmly established in the truth yourself. Let 
there be in you a solid scriptural foundation. 
Rest upon God's word. And trust fearlessly to 
those ** old paths,*' and ** that good way," by 
which your Church has guided thousands to a 
Home ot Safety. If not, you will be easily 
pulled this way and that, and be tossed to and 
fro by every wind of doctrine. *^Be fully per- 
suaded in your own mind" as to the truths 
you hold. Let them be grafted there by the 
very hand of God ; and then you need fear 
nothing from those who would mislead you, and 
move you off from your foundation. ** Watch 
ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, 
be strong." i Cor, xvi. 13. 



CHAPTER XIIL 

DUTIES. 

TO GOD — TO one's FAMILY — TO ONE'S FELLOW- 
CHRISTIANS — TO THE WORLDLY — TO THE HEATHEN 
— TO one's self. 

As a servant of Christ, you have not only- 
dangers to avoid, and means of grace to help 
you on your way, and cautions to make you 
watchful, and promises to encourage you, but 
you have also Duties to discharge. 

I. Our duty to God stands first and fore- 
most. Now, one great difference between a 
worldly man and a Christian is this : — the one 
considers that God has a claim, but not the 
chief claim upon him ; the other feels that his 
duty to God stands out as the one main 
object, to which all else must give way. 

And what is the duty which, as Christians, 
we owe to God ? 

First. — We should love Him above all 
things. Even our nearest friends should not 
be dear to us, in comparison with Him. Thus 
David said, ** Whom have I in heaven but 

(189) 



I90 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

thee ? and there is none upon earth that I de- 
sire beside thee." Psalm Ixxiii. 25. 

Nothing short of God Himself will satisfy the 
soul which has felt the emptiness of all earthly 
joys, and at last has found rest in Christ. I 
say, nothing short of God Hwiself, The Chris- 
tian's enjoyment of God may not be always the 
same. Sometimes it may be greater, and some- 
times less. Sometimes his heart may be 
warmer towards God than at other times. But 
as the needle of the compass, when moved, ever 
turns to one particular point, and there fixes 
itself, so is God the one great object of attrac- 
tion to the believer. There he finds a resting- 
place, and there alone does he love to dwell. 
The best of earthly things he cannot enjoy 
apart from God. He only enjoys them, as he 
enjoys God in them. Even spiritual gifts 
alone will not satisfy him ; he wants the Giver, 
as well as the gifts. He desires Christ's pres- 
ence, as well as his ordinances. He knows 
that the Fountain is fuller than the stream, and 
the Sun itself mort glorious than its rays. 

This is a heavenly feeling indeed ; and only 
grace can produce it within us. God himself 
must plant this love in the barren soil of our 
hearts. He must *^ shed it abroad" there 
''by the Holy Ghost." jRom. v. 5. 

How is it that we see some Christians work- 
ing so hard for Christ, and serving Him so 
faithfully and so happily ? Their zeal never 



DUTIES, 191 

appears to flag; the fire within them never 
seems to cool. Let the watch you wear about 
you serve to answer the question. How is it 
that the hands are ever moving, and the little 
wheels always doing their work? What puts 
it all in motion ? Look closely, and you will 
discover a strong, but almost unseen, spring 
that sets all a-going. Take away that main- 
spring, and the watch is useless. And there is 
something, too, within the Christian, which 
secretly moves his heart, his affections, and his 
desires. Love is the Christian's mainspring. 
** We love Him, because He first loved us;" 
** The love of Christ constraineth us." 

Ask God, then, to endue you with this 
holy principle of love. Pray that you may love 
Him, not sometimes, but always ; not a little^ 
but with the whole heart. Let your love be 
firm and constant — not coming and returning, 
like the tide ; but flowing on, like a river, 
with a full and even course. 

Secondly. — We should live to God, Our 
love, if it is true love, will be sure to produce 
obedience, and devotedness, and submission to 
God's will. We should feel that our little 
short life may well be spent in His service, 
and to His glory. ^* Ye are not your own," 
says the inspired Apostle ; *' for ye are bought 
with a price : therefore glorify God in your 
body, and in your spirit, which are God's." 
I Cor, vi. 19, 20. We are not sent into this 



192 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

world, as many seem to think, merely to eat 
and drink, and get our living, and pass our 
time as may be most pleasing to ourselves. We 
are sent here for a great work— to obtain salva- 
tion for our souls, to glorify our Lord, and to 
serve Him in our day and generation. Christ 
has laid down his life for us ; and in return for 
so vast a benefit, we should give our lives to 
Him. ** He died for all, that they which live 
should not henceforth live unto themselves, but 
unto Him." 2 Cor, v. 15. 

Most of us in these days are called, not to 
any one great act of heroism or self-sacrifice ; 
but Christ calls us to a life of active daily 
duty, and in such a life we may best glorify 
Him. But, oh, how difficult to live such a 
life ! To carry out the humble duties of each 
day, with cheerfulness and contentment — to 
keep up the warmth of our piety amidst the 
cold and deadening cares and occupations of 
the world — to do everything as for God, and 
to have a high and holy end before us, even in 
our lowliest toils— this, as has been well said, 
needs a faith as strong as that of the man who 
dies with the song of martyrdom on his lips. 
Truly it is a great thing to love Christ so 
dearly as to be ready to die for Him ; but it is 
often a thing not less great to be ready to take 
up our daily cross, and to live for Him. 

If you are a true Christian, then, you will 
love God, and live unto Him. And remember 



DUTIES, 193 

this — you cannot live to God in the world, un- 
less you live much with Him, apart from the 
world. You cannot feel real devotedness to 
His service, unless you are in the constant 
habit of drawing near to Him in meditation 
and prayer. This is the secret of a holy, 
happy life devoted to God's service. 

2. Next to God comes your own Family, 
You have a most important and interesting 
duty to discharge to them. It is a happy 
thing for you, if the other members of your 
family are of the same mind as yourself, if they 
feel with you on religious subjects, and are 
seeking with you the way to heaven. Then 
there is a stronger cord that binds you together 
than even that of nature. And, in this case, 
your difficulties will be few. 

But I will suppose it otherwise. Perhaps you 
stand alone in your family : the rest are for the 
world, you are for God. Those, to whom 
you would naturally look for a helping hand, 
are rather disposed to check you. Those, 
whom you have hitherto regarded as your 
counsellors in everything, seem now to be a 
little alarmed at your earnestness, and would 
put a clog upon your wheels, instead of urging 
you onward. 

Now, if this be the case, do not fly off from 
them, and take a solitary course of your own. 
But try to act in accordance with their wishes, 
13 



194 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

as far as you are able to do so without wound- 
ing your own conscience. Certainly, you must 
obey God rather than man, in things which He 
clearly commands. But never act in needless 
opposition, especially where a parent is con- 
cerned. Show them that it is not for oppo- 
sition's sake that you differ from them, and 
that it gives you real pain not to fall in 
with the opinion of those whom, in other 
matters, it is your delight to obey and fol- 
low. Let them see that you love them just 
as much as before; yea, more warmly than 
ever, for Christ's sake. 

So, too, with the other members of your 
family circle. It may be, they thwart and 
oppose you in your religious path. But cheer- 
fully bear every taunt. Return with kindness 
every hard word. Remember what you once 
were yourself. Does not our Lord say, *'I 
came not to send peace, but a sword? " And 
does He not even foretell that a ** man's foes 
shall be they of his own household?" Matt, 
X. 34, 36. You may be now feeling the truth 
of this. Once all was harmony and agree- 
ment in your family ; but now a difference of 
opinion on the most vital points has sprung 
up. Unkind remarks are constantly made 
about your religious views; and your actions 
and feelings are often mistaken. Well, so it 
always has been ; so it was with Christ ; and so 
it may be now with you. But does not the Lord 



DUTIES. 195 

bid his followers to take up the cross, and bear 
it after Him ? This is one part of that cross ; 
and will you not bear it gladly, patiently, 
meekly, for His sake ? 

Now, let it be your earnest endeavor to 
win over every member of your family to the 
Lord's side. Try by gentle means to lead 
them into the same pleasant path, into which 
you, through God's mercy, have been brought. 
It is far better to attract them by the holiness 
and blamelessness of your conduct, and to 
draw them with the silken cords of love, than 
to try and force them by warmth of argument, 
and by condemning them for what, perhaps, 
they do not yet see to be wrong. Endeavor 
to win them to Christ, for you cannot drag 
them into his service against their will. There 
are a thousand little acts of affection you may 
daily show them, and a thousand ways in which 
the beautiful fruits of religion may display 
themselves. Be cheerful and kind among 
them. Love your home, and try to make 
it happy to all. 

I once knew a young man, a member of 
a large family. His duty called him into a 
foreign country, and whilst there it pleased 
God, in His great mercy, to touch his heart, 
and to awaken serious feelings within him. 
When his mind became religiously impressed, 
one of his first thoughts was, '^What will they 
think of me, and say of me, at home ? ' ' He 



196 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

boldly wrote to his father, telling him that his 
mind and feelings were greatly changed. But 
still he wrote in the spirit of meekness, and as 
one who needed rather to be guided, than to 
guide and teach others. On his return home, 
the same humble and affectionate spirit marked 
his conduct, and the same dutiful deference to 
his parents. There was a cheerfulness, too, 
about his manner, which showed that the re- 
ligion which had rooted itself in his heart was 
not a religion of gloom, but one which pro- 
duced peace within, and had a happy influence 
on others. 

Here was a beginning of larger blessings to 
that family,- — a light set up to shine in it. 
And God blessed that young man's quiet, con- 
sistent example, and heard his prayers ; so 
that he had the happiness of seeing first one, 
and then another, taking the same serious view 
of things that he had taken himself. 

Now, if he had pursued another course ; if 
he had been sharp and uncharitable towards 
those about him ; if he had borne impatiently 
any little opposition he might occasionally 
have met with ; if he had tried Xo force his views 
upon others, instead oi persuading them by his 
gentleness ; he might not only have lost much 
of the peace which he himself enjoyed, but 
those most dear to him might have been 
checked in their religious course, rather than 
led on, by his example. 



DUTIES. 197 

If you should find yourself in tlie same 
situation as this young Christian, endeavor to 
act as he did. This is the surest and happiest 
course to take, and one that God will most 
certainly bless. 

But this book may, perhaps, fall into the 
hands of some Christian Parent. Oh ! what 
deeply interesting and affecting duties you have 
to discharge — to order your household in the 
fear of the Lord, and to bring up your children 
for Him ! But it must be enough for me 
merely to hint at these most important duties. 
Remember, your position is a most responsible 
one. Every child is a precious talent com- 
mitted to your care. See that you employ it, 
as one who must give an account. Endeavor 
to be a spiritual, as well as a natural, parent to 
your children; ay, to take more care to get 
a portion for their souls in heaven, than to make 
provision for their bodies on earth. 

What a difference there is in family circles ! 
and how much of that difference may depend 
on the parent ! Think of that family at Naza- 
reth of which Jesus was a member. What a 
happy home it must have been ! And if we 
were only more like Him, how many happy 
homes would there be in our own land ! *^But 
there are, we fear, (observes a Christian writer,) 
many unhappy homes — many wretched families 
— more by far than is generally supposed. And 
what is the cure for this? The presence of 



198 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

Jesus. Oh, let Him into your houses, to dwell 
with you, and form one of your family circle, and 
He will turn your homes into little Edens ; He 
will heal your divisions ; He will banish sad- 
ness and sorrow ; He will cement you into one 
holy, happy family ; and then will be realized 
all that imagination ever conceived of the 
charms of home. He would fain enter into our 
homes, if we would let him. Believe me, it is 
His presence that sanctifies and sweetens do- 
mestic life. Without this it is a poor thing. 
Many fine things have been said of domestic 
bliss; but rest assured that the presence and 
love of Jesus is the sweetest drop in the cup, 
and that without this it will speedily turn into 
gall and wormwood." 

It has often been said, that charity should 
begin at home ; and may we not also say that 
piety should begin at home? The man in 
public is not always the same man in private; 
but the good man — the Christian man— in 
private will be sure to be the -Christian man in 
public. 

3. Towards your Fellow- Christians also you 
have a special duty. ^' Love the Brethren,''^ is 
the Apostle's precept. And it was said of the 
early Christians, even by the heathen, ''See 
how these Christians love one another." They 
are God's people ; they belong to Christ ; and 
if you love Him, you will love them also. 



DUTIES. 199 

This special love towards the children of God 
is a mark which always belongs to His family : 
'' We know (says the beloved Apostle) that we 
have passed from death unto life, because w^e 
love the brethren." \ John iii. 14. 

Learn to bear with the faults and failings of 
your fellow-Christians. They are not perfect, 
they have many infirmities — and remember 
how great, and how many, are your own. 
Never be jealous of them, if they are preferred 
before you, or are more noticed than yourself. 
When you hear a Christian brother or sister 
highly spoken of, it should give you real pleas- 
ure ; and instead of thrusting in a word by 
way of lessening the praise bestowed upon 
them, you should rejoice that they are honored. 
Again, never try to exalt yourself above 
others. It was the sin of Diotrephes, that ** he 
loved to have the pre-eminence." How much 
more Christ-like is it to be willing to take 
the lower place, and to *' esteem others better 
than yourself" — being ^^ kindly affectioned one 
to another with brotherly love, in 
honor preferring one another." Show your 
brethren much kindness for Christ's sake. Is 
it not written, *^ Whosoever shall give to drink 
unto one of these little ones a cup of cold 
water only in the name of a disciple, verily I 
say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his re- 
ward " ? and again, *' Let us do good unto all 
men, especially unto them who are of the 



200 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

household of faith.*' Matt, x. 42; GaL vi. 
10. 

4. But the Christian has a duty to perform 
towards those whose hearts and hopes are in this 
present world. And this is sometimes very 
difficult ; so much so that St. Paul gives a 
special caution respecting it, ^' Walk in wisdom 
\o\iZxdi them that are without y Col. iv. 5. To 
despise those who know not Christ, is clearly 
wrong ; for let us remember that there was a 
time when we ourselves knew Him not. To shun 
and avoid them is also wrong ; for we may 
by God's blessing do them good. But to 
throw ourselves into their society, and to fall 
in with their ways, is to endanger our own 
souls. 

There is a safe line which may be drawn, so 
as to keep clear of each of these errors. Seek 
as much as possible the companionship of the 
godly. Let these be your friends and associ- 
ates. And when you chance to be thrown in 
with worldly persons, be careful to say nothing, 
and to do nothing, which may give needless 
offence. Without falling into Peter's sin, and 
shrinking from owning whose you are, try to 
win your way by cheerfully and good-naturedly 
bearing any reproachful words, which may be 
spoken against you ; and at any rate show a 
kind spirit towards those who differ from you. 
Make great allowances for others : try to do 



DUTIES. 20I 

them good ; and, above all, earnestly pray for 
them. A gentle and forbearing manner often 
finds the way to a man's heart, which has been 
long barred and closed against the most power- 
ful attacks ; as the warm sunbeam, without any 
noise or violence, induced the traveller in the 
fable to cast off his cloak, which all the blus- 
tering of the wind could not do, but rather 
made him gather it closer, and bind it faster 
about him. 

With the fixed determination, then, by 
God's help, to keep your own straight, con- 
sistent. Christian course, and to let nothing 
turn you from it, conduct yourself with all 
humility and love towards those who are fol- 
lowing the world instead of Christ, and use 
every effort in your power to lead them into 
a better path. 

5. You have also a duty to the Heathen, 
Many turn away from them, and say with Cain, 
^'Am I my brother's keeper ? " But it must 
be far otherwise with you. You feel the rich 
blessings of the gospel ; and do you not long 
to bring many, yea all, within its sound ? You 
know what it is to have a Saviour to flee to, 
and to love ; then think of those to whom that 
Saviour is unknown. Give what you are able, 
though the sum be small, to some Missionary 
Society. And if you find it a difficult matter 
to spare even that small sum, deny yourself, so 



202 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

that you may, by that means, have something 
to give. Thus will you enjoy the happiness of 
contributing your little portion towards send- 
ing ministers of the gospel to those who know 
not Christ, and you yourself will be helping to 
*^ guide their feet into the way of peace.'* 
Endeavor also to stir up others to take a part 
in this blessed Christian w^ork. 

6. And now, is there not a further duty, 
which you owe to Yourself ? You have a sou) 
to ripen for heaven ; and you have a Christian 
character to maintain while you are here. 

A soul to ripen for heaven I What an im- 
portant work ! You are living in the midst of 
a deadening and ensnaring world. God has 
kindled a flame in your soul ; and the fire 
must be kept up, or it will soon burn but very 
dimly ; for the cold, damp atmosphere of the 
world is all against it. How can this be done ? 
By continued watchfulness, and by applying 
daily and hourly to him in whom all fulness 
dwells.: by using all the means of grace, and 
by living a life of faith on the Son of God. 
'* I know, (said good Bishop Beveridge,) I 
know that I must strive ^ before I can enter in 
at the strait gate. I must win the crown, be- 
fore I can wear it. I must be a member of 
the Church on earthy before I can be admitted 
into the Church in heaven. In a word, I must 
go through a solitary wilderness, and conquer 



DUTIES. 203 

many enemies, before I come to the land of 
Canaan, or else must never be possessed of it." 

A spirit of self-denial, too, is needed, if we 
would grow in conformity to our Lord, and 
ripen for His presence. But oh, how feebly do 
we often run our race ! How little exertion do 
we make to win our prize ! What a soft, easy 
life do many Christians of the present day live I 
Many of us seem to fancy, that, if we know 
the truths of the gospel, and believe them, and 
embrace them, nothing more is needed — that 
our work is done. But can this be getting 
meet for heaven ? Can this be the religion of 
Christ ? Must we not have mistaken the gos- 
pel? For what says our Lord? '' If any man 
will come after me, let him deny himself, and 
take up his cross daily, and follow me." Luke 
ix. 23. 

Remember, then, the cross must be taken 
up ; not once or twice, but daily. We must 
not shrink from it because it galls us, but be 
content cheerfully to bear it. We must daily 
exercise some act of self-denial. Instead of 
doing a thing because it is pleasing to flesh and 
blood, we must ask ourselves, '^ Is it pleasing 
to God?'' and if not, we must at once put a 
yoke upon our own will. Our desires, our in- 
tentions, our actions, must all be brought into 
captivity to the obedience of Christ. 

In short, dear reader, there must be a daily 
course of self-denial, if you would reach 



204 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

heaven — a daily dying to self, that you may 
live to God — a daily renouncing your own 
pleasure, that you may please your Lord — 
thinking nothing too dear to give up, nor any- 
thing too hard to bear, for Him who counted 
not His life too dear, nor the cross itself too 
heavy to bear, for you. 

And you must practise this self-denial in 
little things, as well as in great things. For it 
is in the every-day acts of life that the true 
Christian should show himself; and it is not 
so much on special occasions, but in the ordi- 
nary path of duty, that he most honors God by 
a cheerful, happy obedience to His will. 
Without this we cannot be growings and ripen- 
ing, and becoming fit for our Master's pres- 
ence. 

But further you have a Christian character 
to maintain whilst you are here. Christ has 
called you to his service. You have enlisted 
under his banner. You are one of his people. 
Then, be sure the world's eye is upon you. It 
will closely watch your course. It will mark 
every false step. The Christian is spoken of as 
** a city set upon a hill ; " as ** a light '' that 
may be seen ; as an '* epistle of Christ, known 
and read of all men." How anxious you 
should be, then, in no way to dishonor your 
Christian profession, but to display a holy and 
blameless character in the world which you 
are living in ! How carefully you should avoid 



DUTIES, 205 

even the appearance of evil ! You may do 
immense harm to the cause of Christ by one 
unguarded word, by one false step, by one un- 
becoming act. 

Pray that God may keep you in the strait 
and narrow path — that He may uphold you by 
His own grace ; for most assuredly you will 
fall, if He supports you not. Pray, too, 
that He may enable you to 'Met your light 
so shine before men, that they may see your 
good works, and glorify your Father which 
is in heaven/' Matt. v. 16. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

ENCOURAGEMENTS. 

This is a brighter and more welcome subject. 
And, happily, the anxious Christian need not 
look far for Encouragements. His journey may 
have been wearisome and difficult, but he has 
abundant comforts by the wa,y. If he is in 
the pathway of safety, there is many a refresh- 
ing spring by the roadside to cheer him. He 
may ''drink of the brook in the way,*' and 
thus be enabled to 'Mift up the head." Psalm 
ex. 7. 

How many sweet and precious promises in 
God's word are made specially to him I He 
may take them to himself, and derive abundant 
encouragement from them. The Bible is like 
*' the pillar of the cloud," which followed the 
Israelites : it was all light to them ; but it 
was all darkness to the Egyptians. Exodus 
xiv. 20. So the Scriptures speak with a voice 
of cheering encouragement to God's children ; 
but they are full of threatenings to the worldly. 
Be of good courage, then, my fellow-Christian, 
and go on your way rejoicing. I am per- 
mitted to address you with words of encourage- 
ment. 

(206) 



ENCOURAGEME.NTS, 207 

I. God is YOUR God. You were brought 
into covenant with Him in baptism. And 
since that time you have deliberately chosen 
Him as your portion. What an unspeakable 
blessing to be permitted to say of Him who 
made the world, and rules in heaven — of Him 
who is all-wise and all-mighty — This God is 
my God ! 

Seek to realize God's presence as much as 
possible. Believe that He is near you, with 
you, by your side, though you see Him not. 
Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, 
remember God is there. Speak often to Him. 
Converse with Him as with a Friend. Hold 
communion with Him. Lift up your heart to 
Him constantly. This is '* walking with 
God,'* as Enoch walked. Gen, v. 22. 

And who can tell the blessedness of such a 
walk? You will enjoy a peace which the 
world cannot disturb. Its troubles and vexa- 
tions may come close to you, but they cannot 
hurt you. You may take them as your ap- 
pointed portion, without being distressed by 
them. You may even look down upon them, 
and smile at them, with the happy feeling that 
they will soon pass away, like clouds that will 
presently give place to a bright and lasting 
sunshine. 

Look upon God as your Father, This is 
your privilege. This blessed feeling of rela- 
tionship will draw out your confidence and 



2o8 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

affection towards him. He is your Father ; 
and therefore He will deny you nothing which 
is for your good. ^' He that spared not His 
own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how 
shall He not with him also freely give us all 
things? '* Rom, viii. 32. He is your Father; 
and, therefore, all that He does must be well. 
This will reconcile you to every trial, and 
sweeten every pain. Again, He is your Father ; 
and will you not feel \\. your greatest pleasure to 
do His will, not in some things, but in all 
things ; not in great things merely, but also in 
each little work of life? 

Oh, cherish this idea, that God is, indeed, 
your Father ; and this will make every duty 
pleasant, and every burden light. Daily 
and hourly call this relationship to mind. 
For instance, is the Bible spread out before 
you? Say to yourself, ^^It is my Father's 
book; it is His voice that speaks to me in it; 
here He makes known to me exactly what he 
would have me do. ' ' Are you going to church ? 
Let this thought be in your mind, '*It \^ my 
Father's house. There will He be to meet me ; 
to hear all my wants ; to listen to my voice, as 
I pour out my thanks ; and to give me direc- 
tions as to the course He would have me 
follow.'* Does affliction come to you ? Com- 
fort yourself with the feeling, ** It is my 
Father's rod : I will kiss it as it smites me.*' 
Are you called to some difficult work, which 



ENCOURAGEMENTS, 209 

you plainly see to be your duty ? Say to your- 
self, ''It is my Father' s business : I will cheer- 
fully engage in it for His dear sake/' Are 
your plans crossed and thwarted ? — ^^So my 
Father orders it : His will be done ! '* 

" It was Thy will, my Father, 

That laid thy servant low ; 
It was Thy hand, my Father, 

That dealt the chastening blow ; 
It was Thy mercy bade me rest 

My weary soul a while ; 
And every blessing I receive 

Reflects Thy gracious smile.'* 

2. Jesus is YOUR Saviour. He is not merely 
a Saviour, but He is your Saviour. If you 
heard of some one who was rich, and kind, 
and benevolent, you would doubtless have a 
feeling of great respect for him. But if that 
same person had been kind to you, would you 
not have a still warmer feeling towards him ? 
And can you not now say of Christ, what you 
could not once say — ^' My beloved is mine, and 
I am his. He loved me, and gave himself for 
me'*? Cant, ii. 16; Gal. ii. 20. 

Live upon Christ daily and hourly. En- 
deavor constantly to realize His presence. Act 
always as if He were by your side. Rejoice 
always in doing His will. Have an eye to 
His glory in everything. Let your life be a 
life of faith. Walk *' as seeing Him who is 
14 



2IO THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

invisible.'^ Heb. xi. 27. You have fled to the 
Saviour for pardon and acceptance. You have 
found Him. Now live upon Him day by day. 
Pray that St. PauFs experience may be more 
and more yours : — *' I live, yet not I, but Christ 
liveth in me ; and the life which I now live 
in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of 
God." Gal. ii. 20. 

You are now united to Christ. You are, I 
trust, a living branch of the true Vine. John 
XV. 5. See that you are not drawing your 
nourishment from other sources, but from Him 
only. There are some plants which we see 
growing up against our walls, whose branches 
are nourished from the parent stem. But, in 
addition to that, they will, wherever they can, 
send out little roots of their own, and so draw 
nourishment for themselves in more ways than 
one. Now, we sometimes see this very thing 
taking place among professing Christians. 
They are not satisfied with the support they 
obtain from the true Vine ; but they are forever 
sending out little roots of their own to draw 
nourishment from other sources. 

Carefully destroy all such roots, wherever 
you find them shooting forth, and see that all 
your support comes from Christ. Let there be 
a constant chain of prayer linking you on to 
Him, and drawing you nearer and nearer to 
Him. Let your *^ life be hid with Christ in 
God.'* CoL iii. 3. Rest on His promises. 



ENCO URA CEMENTS, 2 1 1 

Feed on Him as your spiritual food. Draw 
constantly from His fulness, and ever be look- 
ing to Him as the deliverer and sustainer of 
your soul. Cling to Him, as closely as the 
limpet clings to the rock, both for safety and 
for sustenance. 

After all, what is true religion? It is not so 
much a belief in certain truths, or a holding of 
certain opinions, as it is a cleaving of the soul 
to a living, loving Saviour, This is the religion 
that lasts. This is the religion that sustains the 
soul, and gives it peace and joy. 

Blessed are you, if you are thus living on 
Christ. **Thus only (says a Christian minis- 
ter) can we be sustained amidst all the trials of 
life. Are we weary? We can lean, like St. 
John, upon the Saviour's bosom. Are we bur- 
dened with a sense of sin ? We can hide in 
the clefts of that Rock of ages. Are we 
empty? We can look to Him for an immediate 
supply. Are we hated of all men ? We can 
shelter ourselves under His wings. Stand on 
the Lord Jesus as your foundation, and then 
you may smile at Satan's rage and face a 
frowning world." 

This is the secret of a really happy Christian 
course. Here is the spring of all growth and 
progress. Why do so many begin well, and 
nothing more? They get to a certain point, 
and there they stop. They have fled to Christ, 
perhaps, and have found peace in Him. But 



212 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

they do not go on to live upon Him ; and there- 
fore there is no advance. They sink down 
wearied, instead of running the Christian race. 
Remember, then, Christ is jv^2/r Saviour, and 
your Friend. He is on your side, for you have 
given yourself to Him. And, through Him, 
you will be sustained under every trial, and 
will overcome every difficulty. 

3. The Holy Spirit y too, is your Guide and 
Comforter, If you were journeying in a strange 
land, you would need a guide to point out the 
road, to lead you into the right track, and 
to help you over the difficulties of the way. 
And is not this world a straitge land to you ? 
Thank God, there is a safe road through it — a 
beaten track. But no one ever found it of 
himself. The Holy Spirit is your Guide. He 
takes of the things of Christ, and *' shows 
them to you." He is ever ready to '* lead you 
into all truth." John xvi. 13. 15. You have 
the Bible ; but that will be but a closed book, 
unless the Holy Spirit unfolds its meaning to 
you, and sheds His own light upon it. Look 
to Him, then, daily as your Guide and 
Teacher, 

And further apply to the Holy Spirit as your 
Comforter, Your heart will often ache. Sor- 
row will often cross your path. Earthly com- 
forts will soon dry up. They are but poor 
remedies when the wound is within. But the 



ENCO URA CEMENTS, 2 1 3 

Spirit of God can refresh your soul. He can 
lead you beside those ** still waters," where 
you may find the truest peace. 

4. The Saints of God are your fellow-trav- 
ellers. Here is a further encouragement. You 
are not a solitary pilgrim along the journey of 
life. There are many with you. A goodly 
band have already reached the happy country : 
** through faith and patience they inherit the 
promises." And others are struggling on; 
fighting against the same enemies and meeting 
with the same daggers and difficulties as your- 
self. Take courage then. The strength that 
supports them in their weakness shall support 
you. The same ^'everlasting arms" are un- 
derneath you. The same shield, which pro- 
tects them, shall be your defence. The same 
victory shall be yours. 

But it may so happen, that there may be 
none of your own friends journeying on the 
same heavenly road as yourself. The Lord may 
have seen fit to cast your lot in a place, or 
fix you in a family, where you may not find 
any with whom you may take sweet religious 
counsel. Let not this, however, dishearten 
you, or lead you to exclaim, ''Who will show 
me any good?" But rather make the Psalm- 
ist's prayer your own, "Lord, lift Thou up 
the light of thy countenance upon me." Ps. 
iv. 6. If you experience constant nearness to 



214 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

God through the Spirit, and are warmed by 
communion with Christ, it matters little 
whether you travel to heaven alone, or in 
company. 

5. The Home which some of God^s children 
have reached is your Home, Sometimes we 
are ready to sink beneath our heavy burden. 
But why so ? This is the scene of our labors. 
This is the land of trials and of sorrows. But 
our resting-place is near — our home — our 
Father's house. Jesus has purchased it for us. 
He has gone there himself* to ** prepare a 
place*' for us. Our loving Father bestows it 
upon us as our inheritance. *^ Fear not, little 
flock; it is your Father's good pleasure to give 
you the kingdom." 

Yes, we have abundant encouragements. 
And yet, how is it there is so little pressing 
into the kingdom ? Why are there so many 
professors^ and so few Christians — so many that 
'' run^'' and so few that *' obtain "—so many 
who go into the field against Satan, and so few 
who come out conquerors — so many who wish 
to reach the happy land, but never gain it? 
It is because they do not trust God. They do 
not ''wait upon the Lord," and thus ''renew 
their strength." And what is the conse- 
quence ? They have no power to grapple with 
the difficulties that meet them on their way to 
happiness. They leave heaven to others, who 



ENCO URA CEMENTS. 215 

will venture all for it. Like Orpah, they go a 
little way with Christ, and then, when hardship 
stares them in the face, they leave Him ; loath 
to lose heaven, but more loath to buy it at so 
dear a price. 

But I hope better things of you, my dear 
reader. Is there not a voice which speaks to 
you from heaven — a voice from one who loves 
you and feels for you ! And that voice is ever 
whispering to you, and saying, ^' Be thou faith- 
ful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of 
life.'' There is a peaceful and happy life be- 
fore you here, and a heaven hereafter. These 
are your portion — this is your inheritance. Oh, 
forfeit it not through lack of faithfulness. 

It is true, there are many Dangers in your 
path \ but I have shown you where you can find 
a shelter. There are Difficulties which you 
will meet with ; but I have also told you of 
strength that will support you under them, and 
bring you through them. I have spoken of 
Enemies, too, whom you will have to encoun- 
ter ; but, you see, there is a matchless armor 
provided for you. And, thanks be to God, 
He can ** give you the victory through our 
Lord Jesus Christ." i Cor. xv. 57. 

" Strong in the Lord of Hosts, 
And in His mighty power, 
Who in the strength of Jesus trusts 
Is more than conqueror. 



2i6 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY 

** From strength to strength go on ; 
Wrestle, and fight, and pray ; 
Tread all the powers of darkness down. 
And win the well-fought day. 

" Then, having all things done, 
And every conflict past, 
Ye shall behold your victory won, 
And gain the crown at last." 



CHAPTER XV. 

PROGRESS AND RELAPSE. 

Did you ever, from day to day, watch the 
growth of a crop of corn ? First, the seed is 
sown. After a while, the green shoots make 
their appearance above the surface. The blade, 
week after week, grows higher and stronger, 
though continually checked by frost and cut- 
ting winds. Then the ear is formed, and the 
grain swells within it. At length the crop loses 
its green color, and a bright golden yellow 
takes its place. We now see that it is ripening. 
The warm rays of the sun are daily and hourly 
bringing, it to perfection ; till at length the 
sickle sweeps it down, and it is gathered into 
the barn. 

Is this a picture of yourself, dear reader? 
Does this describe your gradual, steady growth 
— your spiritual ripening — your increasing 
meetness for the heavenly garner? Look at 
St. Paul : how was it with him ? What earnest 
desire there was in him to be getting on, to 
be making progress, to be advancing towards 
heaven ! He ran, \\q fought, he trained himself^ 
he strove eagerly for the prize. Hear his own 

(217) 



2i8 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

words ; ^' I therefore so run, not as uncertainly ; 
^o fight I, not as one that beateth the air; but 
I keep under my body, and bring it into subjec- 
tion ; " '' Forgetting those things that are be- 
hind, and reaching forth unto those things that 
are before, I press toward the mark.'* PhiL 
iii. 13, 14; I Cor. ix. 26, 27. 

And so it will be with every one in whose 
soul there is spiritual life. If, for instance, 
you feel sin to be a hateful thing, you will be 
ever taking a closer and deeper search after it ; 
and you will be longing to clear out all that is 
evil in your heart. If, again, you have faith to 
believe in Christ, you will be seeking for more 
faith ; you will be daily praying to have it in- 
creased. If you know something of God, you 
will be anxious for j^r/y^^r^/^^T^j^//*?/- knowledge 
of Him. If His love has been *^shed abroad 
in your heart, '^ you will not be content with 
what you have got ; but you will feel that you 
want more. If, in short, you have taken some 
steps up the ladder, you will desire to be 
mounting higher and higher. 

Now that you have welcomed Christ to your 
soul, let there be a daily and steady advance. 
You have gained much ; but there is still more 
to win. You have touched, as it were, the hem 
of the Saviour^s garment, and been healed by 
Him ; but do not shrink back into the crowd 
again. ** As ye have received Christ Jesus the 
Lord, so walk ye in Him, rooted and built up 



FJ^ OGRESS AND RELAPSE, 219 

in Him, and stablished in the faith.*' CoL ii. 
6, 7. It is not enough to have drawn near to 
Christ : you must learn now to live with Him — 
not to be content with His presence just now 
and then, but to desire it always ; to do every- 
thing as if He was by your side. **I must 
(said a good old Christian minister) acquire the 
holy habit of connecting everything with God. 
Whether my affairs move on smoothly or rug- 
gedly, God must be acknowledged in them. 
If I go out of my house, or come in, I must go 
out and come in as under the eye of God. If 
I am occupied with business all the day long, I 
must have the glory of God in view. If I have 
an affair to transact with another, I must pray 
that God would be with us in that affair, lest 
we should blunder, or injure and ruin each 
other. *' 

Such a heavenly state as this is within our 
reach ; and we should try to attain to it. 

But it may be asked, *' Are those, who are 
thus advancing, always the first to see their own 
progress?*' No; I believe not. Oftentimes 
the Christian grows, without knowing it him- 
self. He may even fancy that his heart is get- 
ting worse instead of better ; because he sees 
the greatness and the number of his sins more 
clearly, and feels them more keenly. He may 
think that his faith is weaker than ever ; be- 
cause he discovers more painfully his unbelief. 
In short, the more he grows in grace, the lower 



220 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

he sinks in his own eyes. Once he thought 
well of himself; but he has learnt to take an 
humbler view of his state before God : just as 
the blade of corn shoots up boldly, and the 
young ear raises its head with confidence ; but, 
as it becomes fuller, it droops towards the 
ground, not because it is feebler, but because 
it is heavier and riper. 

It often happens, too, that a Christian's 
growth may be slow, and yet real. Do we see 
the corn rise in the fields ? Do we see the hour- 
hand of the clock move ? Yet in each case 
there is sure and gradual progress. Oh that it 
may be so with you ! May your progress, 
though slow perhaps, be genuine ! And if you 
would have it so, use the means which I have 
already pointed out — such as public prayer, 
the hearing of the gospel, partaking of the 
Lord's Supper, private reading of the Script- 
ures, secret prayer, intercourse with the Lord's 
people. 

Ah, well is it if you are thus getting on, 
advancing, making progress ! Well is it if you 
are gaining fresh victories over sin ; if clearer 
light is breaking in upon you ; if you ixt get- 
ting nearer to God, knowing Him better, and 
loving Him more ; if you are feeling the ground 
firmer under you ; and are fearing death less, 
and are desiring heaven more ! 

We must aim high, if we would win heaven. 
We must not be content to say, ''I will live as 



PROGRESS AND RELAPSE. 221 

Others live." Try to live as the word of God 
directs you. Try to live as St. Paul lived, and 
St. Peter, and St. John, and others, who are 
now with God. Above all, try to live as Jesus 
lived when He was among us. Holiness is 
happiness ; and sure I am that he who lives the 
holiest life, lives the happiest life. Seek to be 
a rejoicing, happy Christian, living above the 
world, and daily pressing towards the mark for 
the prize of your high calling in Christ. 

Go on, my dear fellow-Christian; and may 
God help you on your way ! He promises to 
do so: *^I will be (he says) as the dew unto 
Israel ; he shall grow up as the lily, and cast 
forth his roots as Lebanon." Hos. xiv. 5. 
*' They that wait upon the Lord shall renew 
their strength ; they shall mount up with wings 
as eagles; they shall run and not be weary." 
Isa. xl. 31. 

But, possibly, some one who has been read- 
ing these pages may have a little misgiving 
within him. His conscience, all the while, 
may have been whispering, '^ Alas, it is not so 
with me ! So far from getting on, I am falling 
back. There was a time when I felt much 
more than I now feel. My heart has grown 
cold. I have not the same delight in prayer 
that I once had. My Bible is not so welcome 
to me." 

A relapse ! What state can be more sad ? 



222 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

To have known God- — to have loved Him — to 
have fled to Christ — to have given Him your 
heart — and then to have gone from Him, and 
to have allowed the world to steal in again — 
this is, indeed, a melancholy state of things ! 
And oh, if such be your state, listen to a 
friendly counsellor. God has a word for you, 
it may be, on this very page which you are 
reading. He would call you back, and stop 
you in your downward course. 

My dear reader, if you are a backslider ; if 
you have gone aside, though it be only a step 
or two ; if you have fallen back, though it may 
be only a little way perhaps — I beseech you to 
stop. Thank God, it is not too late for you to 
return. Take up your neglected Bible again. 
Fall humbly on your knees, and ask God to 
pour out upon you afresh the spirit of prayer. 
Give yourself to Him anew. Say to Him, 
''Lord, revive thy work in my soul. Restore 
unto me the joy of thy salvation.' ' 

" Return, O holy Dove, return, 
Sweet messenger of rest ; 
I hate the sins that made thee mourn 
And drove thee from my breast.'* 

But it may not be quite so bad with you as 
this. You may not have entirely relapsed. 
You may be in a stagnant state. The stream 
may not be actually dried up, though it does 
not flow on. There are some in the world, of 



PROGRESS AND RELAPSE. 223 

whom it would be wrong to say that they are 
not God's children ; for many marks show 
them to be His. They have deep convictions 
of conscience, and strong feelings of their guilt 
and misery ; they have willingly given up 
many worldly advantages for Christ j and it is 
their desire to live ** unblamable and unre- 
provable in His sight.'' But there they stand, 
motionless as it were. They have got thus far, 
but they make no advance. They have been 
*' brought up out of the horrible pit," in which 
they were once sunk ; but there they are con- 
tent to be, at the pit's mouth, as it were, 
instead of rising up, and pressing onwards 
towards heaven. They are much as they were 
weeks and months back. Their troubles and 
their temptations are just the same as they were 
then. They have got over none of their diffi- 
culties. They do not ripen. They do not 
** mount up with wings as eagles." They do 
not run, but crawl, towards heaven. 

Now, where this is the case, there must be 
something wrong. There must be some secret 
hidden sin allowed, or some known duty left 
undone. The plant must have some canker at 
the root, or it would grow. There is a fulness 
of blessing in Christ ; but, perhaps, a lack of 
prayer for it on your part. You ** have not, 
because you ask not. " Can you expect the fire 
to burn brightly, if you do not feed it? Can 
you expect the wheels to go round, if you let 



224 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

no oil into them ? Can you expect the vessel 
to move onward in its course, if its sails are not 
spread to catch the wind ? You will do well 
to examine yourself, and find out what is want- 
ing in you. And then set out, as it were, 
afresh. Repent, as if you had never repented 
before. Go to Christ for a new grant of par- 
don ; and begin to-day to live an earnest and 
devoted life. 

But I would hope that neither of these states 
is yours ; that you are neither going back, nor 
standing still. Your conscience tells you that 
you are getting on by little and little. Still 
you must be watchful. He that feels strong to- 
day may be weak to-morrow. Remember, your 
strength does not lie in yourself, but in the 
Lord. You stand, only so long as He supports 
you. You advance, only so far as He helps 
you on. Neither does God give you a stock 
of grace ; but just enough for your present 
wants. Let your daily prayer then be, ^' Hold 
Thou me up, and I shall be safe.*' Ps, cxix. 
117. And as you run your race, be ever 
** looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher 
of your faith.*' Heb. xii. 2. 

Christian, let your motto be — ** Forward, 
Onward, Heavenward ! " Set yourself daily to 
some ^d'^r/- work. Try and overcome some sin. 
Be ever putting on some Christian grace. Be 
ever getting some new thoughts of Christ. Be 
constantly seeking to pick out some pearl from 



PROGRESS AND RELAPSE. 225 

God's word. Deny yourself in some fresh par- 
ticular. Get some fresh glimpse of God and 
of heaven. ^' Grow in grace, and in the knowl- 
edge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." 
Let your path be as the sun — that bright and 
** shining light, which shineth more and more 
unto the perfect day." 

SYMPTOMS OF A DECLINING STATE. 
(Gathered chiefly from " The Pocket Prayer-book.") 

1. When you grow bolder with sin, or with 
temptations to sin, than you were in your more 
watchful state — then be sure something is 
wrong. 

2. When you make a small matter of those 
sins and infirmities, which once seemed griev- 
ous to you, and almost intolerable. 

3. When you settle down to a course of re- 
ligion, that gives you but little labor, and leave 
out the hard and costly part. 

4. When your God and Saviour grows a 
little strange to you, and your religion consists 
in conversing with men and their books ^ and not 
with God and His book. 

5. When you delight more in hearing and 
talking, than in secret prayer and the word. 

6. When you use the means of grace more 
as a matter of duty, than as food in which your 
soul delights. 

15 



226 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

7. When you regard too much the eye of 
man, and too little the eye of God. 

8. When you grow hot and eager about 
some disputed point, or in forwarding the in- 
terests of some party of Christians, more than 
about those matters which concern the great 
cause of Christ. 

9. When you grow harsh and bitter towards 
those who differ from you, instead of feeling 
tenderly towards all who love Christ. 

10. When you make light of preparing for 
the Lord's Day, and the Lord's Table, and 
think more of outward ordinances than you do 
of heart-work. 

11. When the hopes of heaven and the love 
of God cannot interest you ; but you are thirst- 
ing after some worldly enjoyment, and grow 
eager for it. When the world grows sweeter to 
you, and death and eternity are distasteful sub- 
jects. 

ALL THESE ARE SURE SIGNS OF A DECLINING 
STATE. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE DISCIPLINE OF AFFLICTION. 

You have doubtless visited a stonemason's 
workshop. There you have seen stones of every 
shape — some rough and coarse, and some 
smooth and even. And you have observed 
also a number of tools — some sharp for cutting 
the stone, and some for grinding and smooth- 
ing it. Now, the Church on earth is God's 
workroom. Here He prepares the stones for 
his spiritual temple above. And we usually 
find, that on those whom He specially values, 
and means to fit for some great purpose, He 
employs His sharpest tools. 

Thou art a child of God — then marvel not if 
thou art afflicted. For is it not written, 
^' Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and 
scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye 
endure chastening, God dealeth with you as 
with sons ; for what son is he whom the father 
chasteneth not?" Heb. xii. 6,7. And Jesus 
himself says, *' As many as I love, I rebuke 
and chasten." Rev. iii. 19. Tiie gardener cuts 
and prunes his fruit-trees. Why, but that they 
may be the more vigorous and healthy? And 

(227) 



228 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

SO does the heavenly Husbandman deal with 
the living branches of His vine ; '' Every 
branch thai beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it 
may bring forth more fruity John xv. 2. 
The shepherd, as he watches over his sheep, 
sometimes employs a dog to gather them. They 
are straying perhaps on the mountains, and he 
w^ould thus call them home. The dog seems 
for a while to be only scaring and scattering the 
sheep ; but in the end he brings them together, 
close to his master* s side. So does the Lord 
send affliction and trial after us. He makes us 
suffer for a while. But it is for our profit ; and 
it matters little, if we are thereby brought into 
the fold for safety. 

Perhaps you have prayed that God would 
make you all that He would have you to be, 
that He would cast you in His own mould, and 
conform you to His blessed image. He hears 
your prayer, and answers it — but how ? Not, 
perhaps, in the way you would wish. But He 
sends you some trial, some chastisement. He 
lays you down upon a sick-bed ; or He removes 
some dear one from you ; or He overthrows 
some of your plans ; or He sends you persecu- 
tion. In short. He brings you under His 
chastening rod ; and thus, though He seems 
to be punishing you. He is really blessing you. 

Ah! we sometimes feel it hard, at the time, 
to be thus dealt with. The cross is painful and 
burdensome when it comes, and we flinch 



THE DISCIPLINE OF AFFLICTION. 229 

beneath it. We looked, it may be, for a very 
different answer to our prayer. We expected 
that the Lord would gently pour His grace into 
our souls. But instead of this, He laid His 
heavy hand upon us. Our feeling is just that 
which is so beautifully described by the Chris- 
tian poet : — 

" I ask'd the Lord that I might grow 
In faith, and love, and every grace; 
Might more of His salvation know, 
And seek more earnestly His face. 

" I hoped that, in some favor'd hour, 
At once He'd answer my request, 
And, by His love's constraining power, 
Subdue my sins and give me rest. 

** Instead of this, He made me feel 

The hidden evils of my heart ; 

And let the angry powers of hell 

Assault my soul in every part. 

" * Lord, why is this ?' I trembling cried ; 

* Wilt thou pursue thy worm to death? * 
*'Tis in this way,' the Lord replied, 

* I answer prayer for grace and faith. 

*• * These inward trials I employ 

From self and pride to set thee free, 
And break thy schemes of earthly joy, 
That thou may'st seek thy all in me. * " 

It is in the school of affliction that the 
Christian learns his best and holiest lessons. 



230 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

Thus it is he is made meet for heaven. His 
sufferings wean him from the world, and draw 
him closer to his Saviour. He is prepared for 
the crown of glory by wearing for a while the 
crown of thorns. In the silent hours of sorrow 
be becomes better acquainted with his own 
heart, and learns to know and to love Christ 
more. He learns submission to his Father's 
will. He learns humility, and feels the bless- 
edness of prayer. ** In this path (says Wins- 
low) he learns his own nothingness. And what 
a lesson is this to acquire ! Other discipline 
may mortify, but not humble, the pride of his 
heart — it may wound but not crucify it. Afflic- 
tion, sanctified by the Spirit of God, lays the 
soul in the dust, and gives it low thoughts of 
itself. Gifts, attainments, successful labors, the 
applause of men — all conspire to bring about 
the ruin of the child of God ; and but for the 
prompt, and often severe, discipline of an ever- 
watchful and ever-faithful God, would accom- 
plish his ruin. But the affliction comes — the 
needed cross — the required medicine. And in 
this way are brought out * the peaceable fruits 
of righteousness.* It is the fire of affliction 
that searches and purifies the heart. It is here 
that the tin and tinsel are consumed. It is here 
the dross is separated from the true ore ; and 
the gold is brought forth, reflecting back the 
image of Him who, like the refiner, watches 
with tenderness and faithfulness the process of 



THE DISCIPLINE OF AFFLICTION. 231 

trial through which the precious metal is pass- 

ing." 

It is submission that God specially desires to 
work in us by affliction — the complete sur- 
render of the will to Him in all things. I 
speak not of this as an attainment in holiness 
soon or easily gained — far from it. In many 
it is the work of years — in all, of painful dis- 
cipline. It is not on the high mount of joy, 
but in the low valley of humiliation, that this 
precious and holy surrender is to be learnt. It 
it not on the summer day, when all things 
smile and wear a sunny aspect — then it were 
easy to say, ** Thy will be done ; '* — but when a 
cloudy and wintry sky looks down upon thee ; 
when the chill blast of adversity blows ; when 
health fails ; when friends die ; when wealth 
departs ; when the heart's fondest endearments 
are yielded ; when the Isaac is called for ; 
when the world turns its back ; when all is 
gone, and thou art brought like a tree in the 
desert, over which the tempest has swept, strip- 
ping it of every branch ; when thou art brought 
so low, that it would seem to thee that lower 
thou couldst not be : — then to look up, and ex- 
claim, *^ My Father, thy will be done ! '' Oh, 
this is holiness, this is happiness indeed ! 

It may be, God, thy God and Father, is 
dealing thus with thee now. Has He taken 
away health ? Have riches made to themselves 
wings? Does the world frown? Ah, little 



232 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

doest thou think how God is now about to un- 
fold to thee the depths of His love, and to 
cause thy will sweetly and entirely to flow 
into His. Earnestly pray for it. Diligently 
seek it. 

Do not be over-anxious to have your afflic- 
tion removed, but to have it made a blessing to 
you. Beware how you seek to push it from 
you and escape from it^ before the Lord's mer- 
ciful purpose has been gained. An old writer, 
comparing affliction to a prison, observes that 
when God places us in it we must not try to 
escape by breaking open the door. ** Rather 
should we look patiently through the bars of 
the window ; and when we see Him passing 
along, cry, ^ Bring my soul out of prison, that 
I may praise thy name.' " Fsalm cxlii. 7. 

Job says, ''When He hath tried me, I shall 
come forth as gold." Job xxiii. 10. And 
how many of God's children are the better, the 
holier, and the happier, for their affliction ! 
We know that some flowers must be bruised 
before they send out their full sweetness. And 
some Christians have need of trial, to make 
their graces appear ; or their loving Father 
would gladly withhold it from them. Like the 
glowworm, they shine brightest in the darkest 
night. 

And oh, how sweetly does affliction often- 
times form, and fashion, and mould, the Chris- 
tian character ! At the time, perhaps, we can 



THE DISCIPLINE OF AFFLICTION. 233 

hardly welcome it. We can scarcely persuade 
ourselves that it is the message of a beloved 
Friend. It *' seemeth not to be joyous, but 
grievous.*' But *^ afterwards/' when the first 
stunning blow is over, /Mt yieldeth the peace- 
able fruits of righteousness;" teaching us to 
know more of God than we ever knew before, 
bending our will to His, and conforming us ^ 
gradually to His image. Oh, who can tell the 
blessing of affliction, when sanctified to us by 
the Spirit of God ? 

Are you one of God's afflicted ones ? Is sick- 
ness your portion ? Or do you meet with con- 
tempt and opposition ? Or have some of your 
fondest hopes been disappointed? Know that 
your trial, be it what it may^ is good for you. 
It is your Father's sending. Pray that it may 
be blest to your soul. Pray that you may not 
only have a spirit of resignation, but also of 
thankfulness. Even a worldly man may be 
resigned, because he may feel that it is useless 
to resist God. But it is grace alone that can 
enable us to welcome affliction, because it is 
our Father's will. It is grace alone that can 
enable us to say with St. Paul, ^' I am exceed- 
ing joyful \xi all our tribulation." 2 Cor. vii. 4. 

If your sufferings of mind or body are great, 
think of the ^' Man of Sorrows : " — His were 
greater. Bear them patiently and cheerfully 
for His sake. Say with Him, **The cup which 
my Father hath given me, shall I not drink 



234 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

it?'' John xviii. ii. Think, too, how little 
is the weight of your sorrows, when compared 
with the ^'eternal weight of glory" which is 
before you. When present suffering seems to 
pull down the balance, and cause the scale 
which is nearest to you to droop heavily, place 
future bliss and glory in the opposite scale; 
and that will soon make the balance more than 
even. Remember, too, you have but a little 
while to bear your sorrows. A few more rough 
waves, and then you will be at rest. Another 
storm or two to ride out, and then you will 
reach ''the haven where you would be.'' 
Meekly bear your cross now, and soon you 
shall wear the crown. If you are willing to 
*' suffer with Christ " here, you shall reign with 
Him hereafter; you shall be with Him in that 
blissful world where ''sorrow and sighing shall 
flee away." 

" Lord, wave again thy chastening rod, 
Till every idol-throne 
Crumble to dust, and thou, O God, 
Reign in our hearts alone.*' 



CHAPTER XVII. 

USEFULNESS. 

It is a glorious thing for the Christian that 
he has escaped eternal wrath, and found rest 
for his soul in the Saviour. But something 
more is needed. It is not enough for him 
to have his own salvation assured to him. He 
must not stop here. There are other important 
concerns which should interest him. ^' For 
what purpose was I sent into the world ? ' ' 
**How can I be useful in it?** — these are in- 
quiries, which every earnest-hearted servant of 
Christ will be disposed to make. 

Whatever our calling in life may be, we may 
glorify God, and be useful to others. Great 
things are sometimes accomplished by very 
feeble instruments. You have probably seen a 
little silkworm. It is a plain, common-looking 
insect. There is nothing remarkable in its 
appearance. But it feeds on the mulberry-tree, 
digests its, leaves and spins from them a delicate 
silken ball. And this has given rise to a beau- 
tiful Persian saying, — '^By patience and perse- 
verance the mulberry-leaf becomes satin.'* 

Yes, great things may be accomplished by us 

(235) 



236 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

all, if we have only a ready mind, and an earnest 
will. The Christian may be useful whilst he 
remains here — useful, whatever be his station 
in life. 

But you may perhaps be ready to ask — How 
can I be useful ? I will try and show you ? 

I . By throwing yourself heartily into the or- 
dinary duties of life. You need not go out of 
your track to find ways of usefulness. God's 
work will be best done by a right perform- 
ance of every-day duties. 

You are a master or a mistress, I will suppose. 
Well, then, take a real interest in the well- 
being of those about you. Try to make them 
better men and women for being under your 
roof. Do little acts of kindness towards them. 
And where you see that they are wrong, try and 
lead them into a better way. Let them feel 
that you are their friend as well as their 
superior, and that you would gladly do them 
any service in your power. 

Or you may be a serva?it. Then do your 
work, whatever it be, conscientiously ; not 
merely when your employer's eye is upon you, 
but when he is absent. Do it, not as unto 
man, but unto God. If there should be any 
dishonesty going on in the house, set your face 
against it ; or if any quarrel should arise, 
try and be a peacemaker. You may be of 
great use among your fellow-servants. You 



USEFULNESS. 237 

may set the rest a good example, and so 
may lead many right. You may be a check 
upon one, an encourager of another, and you 
may show kindness to a third. And thus, 
in your humble position, you may be a blessing 
to the whole household. 

Or again, you may be a clerk in a counting- 
house, or a mechanic^ or a farmer. In this sta- 
tion, many doors of usefulness will be daily 
opening themselves to you, if you look out for 
them. You may influence those about you for 
good. In your town, or in your parish, there 
is sure to be some opportunity for making your- 
self useful. Try and speak a kind word to one ; 
and do some little thoughtful act towards an- 
other; or give some good advice to a third. 
And, at all events, let there be such upright- 
ness and integrity in your whole conduct, as 
may plainly show that there is within, a prin- 
ciple of religion, guiding and directing you. 

It is not our calling in life that will make us 
acceptable to God ; neither is it by leaving our 
calling that we shall be enabled the better 
to serve Him. Judas was a minister and an 
apostle of Christ, but he was a castaway. 
Herod was a slave, though he sat upon a throne. 
On the other hand, who will say that the 
work of that carpenter's shop at Nazareth was 
not noble and kingly work indeed ? for there 
was One there who could say, amidst all his 



238 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

lowly toil, '* Wist ye not that I must be about 
nay Father's business ? '' 

In short, in all the little every-day matters 
of life, act as if you constantly felt that the eye 
of God was upon you. Thus you may be 
an humble light-bearer in the midst of this 
dark world, and do much for God's glory and 
the good of your fellow-creatures. 

2. By the holiness and consistency of your 
character. Words often have but little effect, 
however well spoken ; but a holy life is a most 
powerful preacher. Let it be seen by those 
about you that religion has a firm hold of you ; 
that you are living under its constraining 
power ; and that, in all you do and say, it is 
the one mainspring that moves you. 

We little know what a wholesome influence a 
holy walk may have upon others. The example 
and influence of a good man may tell upon the 
lives and conduct of hundreds, whilst one un- 
godly man in a house, or in a parish, may do 
untold harm, and may ruin many souls. 

For instance, a man may be going to do 
something wrong. He meets a friend in the 
street, whom he knows to be a religious person. 
Not a word may pass between them, and yet 
the very sight of his neighbor may lead the 
man to think of better things, and he may 
change his intention. 

Have you not sometimes felt, that to be 



USEFULNESS, 239 

in the company of a holy servant of God only 
for a few minutes, though not one word may be 
spoken directly to you, has led you to go away 
thoughtful ? There was something about his 
Christian bearing, which made you feel self- 
condemned. Thus, when we little know it, or 
intend it ourselves, we are continually influenc- 
ing one another, either for good or for evil. 

See, then, how useful you may be in your 
daily walk. You may be in a very humble 
station of life \ you may have little or no learn- 
ing ; you may have no particular gift of speech ; 
and yet you may be a blessing to those among 
whom you mix. Your light may shine, without 
your knowing it ; your life may speak, when 
your tongue is silent. If you are living to 
Christ, you are a daily and hourly witness to 
the fact that there is a power in religion which 
can make a man a blessing in this world of sin 
and sorrow. 

One of our missionaries bears the following 
testimony to the good done by the consistent 
example of one of his Hindoo converts: — 
**By his uniform consistency, Peter (the name 
of the convert) had obtained a good report 
* both of the brethren and of strangers.' Hin- 
doos and Mussulmen would often tell us, ^ If all 
your Christians were like Peter, we would adopt 
your faith.' In his little transactions with the 
world, his word was as good as his bond. Any 
tradesman would trust his promise, in cases 



240 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

where he would have required a surety from 
one of his own creed." Oh that this could be 
said of all who feel the power of religion in 
their hearts ! But I must now mention another 
means by which you may be useful. 

3. By speaking for Christ, I have shown 
what quiet, consistent influence may do. But 
we must not rest there. God has given us 
tongues, and we must speak for Him. And if 
the heart be full, it will find vent in words. 
You should try and persuade others to become 
the Lord's servants, whilst your own happy 
experience should show them, that His is a de- 
lightful service. 

You know, perhaps, that one of your com- 
panions never reads his Bible. Speak to him a 
word in season on that subject. And be sure 
that it is in season — that is, when he is likely to 
receive advice kindly. Or, if there be another 
whom you never see in Church, endeavor to 
lead him there by gentle persuasion. Avoid 
all harsh and reproachful language ; or you 
will, in all probability, defeat your own pur- 
pose. Or, if from the lips of a third you 
occasionally hear an oath, do what you can to 
check him ; speak to him at some time when 
he is alone, taking care that it shall be when he 
is calm, and not when he is excited. Or, it 
may be, you are thrown in with some one who 
has evidently no serious thoughts about another 



USEFULNESS, 241 

world. Watch some favorable opportunity for 
directing his attention to those important mat- 
ters which concern his soul. 

But, on all occasions, seize the right moment^ 
if possible, for putting in a word ; for the Wise 
Man says, * ' A word spoken in due season^ how 
good is it ! *' And, again, he tells us that ^^a 
word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pict- 
ures of silver." Prov. XV. 23; XXV. II. 

And always bear this in mind : — that kind 
words go much further than rough ones; that 
it is easier to lead a man than to force him. 
Never speak, then, as though you had authority 
to reprove or exhort ; but bear yourself as 
towards a brother or a sister, with all humility 
and love. 

4. Another means, by which you may be 
useful, is by seeking some active employment in 
the Church. Perhaps you can be of use as a 
Sunday-school teacher, or as a tract-distributor, 
or as a visitor to the sick, or as a missionary 
collector. Propose this to your clergyman ; 
and he will, no doubt, find you work, and 
be glad to number you among his little labor- 
ing band. It is a happy thing to be thus 
employed ; and you may well count it an 
honor to be engaged in the humblest service 
for God. 

But, whatever you undertake, let it be done 
well. Do not begin by being active and zeal- 
16 



242 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

ous, and then grow slack. Let the love of 
Christ be the mainspring that keeps you at 
work. Let this be the happy stimulus that 
urges you steadily on. And may you be able to 
say, with your Lord, ** My meat is to do 
the will of Him that sent me, and to finish 
His work. " John iv. 34. 

Remember, too, that, in all we do, much, 
very much, depends on our motives. Many an 
action that has a good appearance, if it be done 
from an unworthy motive, is by no means 
pleasing to God, who knows all. ** If a person, 
for instance," says Bishop Taylor, '^visits a 
sick friend, and watches at his pillow for 
kindness' and love's sake, he does well ; but 
if he does it in the hope of a legacy, he is 
a vulture, and only watches for the carcass." 
Or, to take another case, suppose you offer 
your services to go and collect money for a 
Missionary Society. If your reason for making 
the offer is that you earnestly desire' to do good 
and your heart burns with love towards your 
poor heathen fellow-creatures, then be sure you 
have God's approval, and He will accept your 
work, and bless it. But if you do it from a 
wish to get yourself into notice, and to gain 
the praise of men, then your motive is a wrong 
one, and what seems to be a good action 
becomes a positively bad one. 

Question yourself, then, very closely as to 
your real object and intention in all you do. 



USEFULNESS. 243 

And know, to your comfort, that, however 
little you may do, if only it be done for God, 
He will acknowledge it. Have you been 
spending an hour, for instance, in teaching a 
little child ? Have you been performing some 
deed of charity to a neighbor ? Have you paid 
a visit of kindness to some poor or suffering 
friend ? Then God reckons that hour as given 
to Him. ^' Inasmuch as ye have done it unto 
one of the least of these my brethren, ye have 
done it unto me.^' Matt. xxv. 40. 

We are all ready enough to allow that the 
rich may do a great deal for their neighbors, by 
giving them money, food, or clothing. And 
may not the poor do much also? You may 
have nothing to offer but the tear of sympathy, 
or a word of affection. And yet, like the 
Apostle, you may say, *' Silver and gold have I 
none; but such as I have give I thee.'' Acts 
iii. 6. And you are thus pleasing God, and 
working for Him. 

5. I will mention one more way by which we 
may be useful, namely, by Prayer, Pray much 
for the work of religion in your family, in your 
parish, in the Church, and in the world at 
large. Your prayers should not be cramped. 
It is not merely for yourself that you should be 
concerned. Your interest should extend beyond 
your own little circle. You are a member of a 
great Christian body, and you should be anxious 



244 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

that that body may prosper. Your own parish, 
and your own minister, and your own congrega- 
tion, of course, claim your first concern ; but 
you should feel interested also in the welfare of 
other parishes, of other ministers, and of other 
congregations besides your own. And do not 
stop there. Do what you can to help forward 
Christ's kingdom in the world. And pray 
specially and constantly that God would pour 
out His Spirit and hasten His work. 

Who can tell what blessings would come 
down upon any place or country, if earnest, 
untiring, believing prayer were daily offered in 
its behalf? *' Prove me now herewith, saith the 
Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the 
windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing 
that there shall not be room enough to receive 
it." MaL iii. lo. 

Now, some, if not all, of these ways of use- 
fulness are within your reach. You have talents 
committed to you; use them to God's glory. 
Each one of us has his own allotted post to fill 
in the Church, and in the world. And happy 
will it be for you if your little span here is thus 
usefully employed ! *^ There is," says a Chris- 
tian writer, ^^ work for all oi us. And there is 
a special work for each — a work which, if I do 
it not, must be left undone. No one of my 
fellows can do that particular work for me 
which I have come into the world to do. He 



USEFULNESS. 245 

may do a higher work — a greater work — but he 
cannot do my work for me. I must do it with 
these hands, or with these lips, which God has 
given me. I may do little, or I may do much ; 
that matters not : it must be my own work. 
The low grass-tuft is not the branching elm, 
nor is it the fragrant rose. But it has a work 
to do in the arrangements of God, which 
neither elm nor rose can undertake.'* 

Another writer makes the following valuable 
observations: — ''Every Christian will desire 
to do good in his day and generation. All 
can do something. There are two vast scales 
before us all, one for good, and one for evil ; 
one for Christ, and one against Him. Our 
influence must go in one scale or the other. 
The least and lowest has one grain, at all 
events, in his hand. Let each see that he 
throws that grain into the right scale. Every 
Christian will desire to leave the world a 
better world than he found it — more godly, 
more enlightened, more happy. He will de- 
sire, if possible, to lessen the amount of evil, 
and to do his part in clearing some of it away. 
Let the selfish worldling think little how the 
world goes on, and care nothing if it only lasts 
his time. The true Christian is of another 
kind. I believe it behooves a true Christian 
to take an interest in everything which affects 
the religion of his Church and country. The 
mouse in the fable climbed to the top of the box 



246 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

in which he was born, and wondered to see the 
world so large. I fear there are many Chris- 
tians very like him ; they only look within at 
their own little box/' 

There are two Christian sayings which I 
would recommend to your notice : — 

*' Live whilst you live/' 

**Do what you can, whilst you can/' 

Dear reader, seek to live to some purpose. 
Work ** while it is day/* for your day is but a 
very short one, and then cometh '* the night, 
when no man can work." Let your humble 
prayer be, that the world may be somewhat the 
better, and not the worse, for your stay in it. 

A Christian minister, whose years were draw- 
ing to a close, once said, ''When I die, I 
shall have my greatest grief, and my greatest 
joy :— my greatest grief, that I have done so 
little for Jesus ; my greatest joy, that He has 
done so much for me/' 

The religion of many Christians has this 
fault in it : — they are too much occupied with 
self. Their religion mainly consists in a doubt- 
ing anxiety about their own spiritual safety. 
This continues week after week, and month 
after month ; and all the while they are leav- 
ing undone, perhaps, some work which God 
has evidently appointed for them. Indeed, if 
they were only doing the work, the doubts 
which harass them would, in all probability, 
speedily disappear. 



USEFULNESS, 247 

Who is it that suffers most from fears about 
his bodily condition ? Who is it that is for- 
ever complaining of pains and aches, and is 
alarmed at every little change in his pulse ? Is 
it the laborer, whose time is well employed 
from morning till night? Is it the man of 
business, whose farm or merchandise keeps his 
hands and head constantly at work? No; it is 
generally the person who has no settled occupa- 
tion, who has no fixed and definite work to 
perform. 

And so it is with Christians: the most con- 
stantly and usefully employed are generally the 
healthiest and strongest Christians. It is those 
who think they have no work to do for God, 
and who do none, that are usually distressed 
with harassing doubts and fears as to their con- 
dition. 

To such I would say, rouse yourselves to 
some active Christian duty There is plenty of 
work to be done, and few ready to do it. Oh ! 
it is a happy thing to labor for God ; to take 
some little share in the great work which He 
is employing his servants to do ! 

It is true, what we can do is at best but very 
little. But if that little is done heartily for the 
Lord, He will graciously own it. He will, 
in mercy, pardon what is amiss, and accept our 
willing service. Happy will it be for us, if we 
shall hereafter be able to say — not as our 



248 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

blessed Lord said, *^I have glorified thee on 
the earth: " (for who among us can hope to 
say that?) — but, *'Lord, it has been my humble 
aim to glorify thee on the earth and to finish 
the work which thou gavest me to do.'* John 
xvii. 4. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

HAPPINESS. 

The Christian's life is a happy one. He has 
his trials, as well as other men. But then his 
very sorrow is lightened ; nay, it even ceases 
to be sorrow, for it is '' turned into joy." The 
darkest clouds that hover over him have **a 
silver lining.** He often passes through the 
furnace, but there is One at hand to cheer and 
comfort him. ** These words,'* said Jesus, 
*^ have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might 
have peace. In the world ye shall have tribu- 
lation : but be of good cheer ; I have overcome 
the world.** John xw\. 33. ^^Many,** says the 
Psalmist, *' are the afflictions of the righteous : 
but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.** 
Psalm xxxiv. 19. 

The Christian's happiness comes from God. 
He is the true Fountain of happiness, and there 
is no real happiness but that which flows from 
this fountain. There may be riotous mirth, 
but that is not happiness; for may it not be 
said, that *' even in laughter the heart is sorrow- 
ful, and the end of that mirth is heaviness*' ? 
Frov. xiv. 13. There may be short fits of 

(249) 



250 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

joyous and excited feeling; but this does not 
make happiness, any more than the bright 
h'ghtning, which flashes across the midnight 
sky and lights it up for a moment, turns night 
into day. Happiness, to deserve the name, 
must be something deep, calm, settled, and 
lasting ; something which mere outward changes 
cannot shake or destroy ; and such happiness 
comes only from God. See that yours is gen- 
uine ; that it is no counterfeit coin ; but that 
it has the stamp of heaven upon it. '' We all 
know (says an able writer) the difference there 
is between a cloudy and a sunny day. The 
real heat may be the same ; nay, the cloudy day 
may be the warmer of the two ; yet to our feel- 
ing it may be quite the contrary. Now, in a 
man^s spiritual condition we see much the 
same difference. Let God's face shine upon 
the soul ; and it is cheered with the brightest 
sunshine. But let God veil his face, and cloud 
it over; and it feels chilled, and is discom- 
forted. Thus it is written, * Thou didst hide 
thy face, and I was troubled.' Do we not see 
in the world many a man disquieted and ill at 
ease in the very midst of earthly comforts, 
while his neighbor who lives in some sorry 
hovel may look always cheerful and contented ? 
What is this difference owing to? To what 
cause must we trace the gloomy spirit of the 
one, and the blithe-hearted contentedness of 
the other, whose lot in the world's eye is so 



HAPPINESS, 251 

hard and wretched ? The cause perhaps is 
simply this : — the one is leading a Christian 
life ; the other is living to the world — the one 
enjoys the light of God's countenance ; from 
the other the Lord turns away his face, and 
leaves him in clouds and heaviness. Oh that 
you may know what it is to have the light of 
God's countenance lifted up upon you ! When- 
ever that shines, it cheers and warms, it gilds 
and beautifies the lowest and meanest lot. 
Where that is wanting, happiness and peace are 
wanting also. For the good things of the world 
can no more make amends for it, than the blaze 
of lamps and torches can make amends for the 
absence of the sun. ' ' 

What a mistaken notion does the world form 
of religion ! It stamps the godly man as an 
unhappy man. Satan persuades men to believe 
that a religious life is a melancholy life ; and 
thus he scares them from the ways of holiness. 
But the world has never had the veil lifted up. 
The world does not understand the Christian. 
Sure I am that, if religion does not make us 
happy, the fault is in ourselves ; there must be 
something in us to prevent it. There must be 
some let or hinderance on our part. Either we 
must be naturally gloomy, or we have got hold 
of some mistaken views, or there is some sin 
indulged in, or some evil temper allowed. In 
short, there must be something wrong within 
us. The gospel of Christ bids us to rejoice, and 



252 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

provides us with a source from which the truest 
happiness may flow. 

But mark this : — a little religion will not give 
happiness. There are some persons who have 
just enough of it to make them thoughtful, but 
not enough to make them happy. They are 
dissatisfied with the world, and feel its empti- 
ness, but they go no further. They know 
nothing of the joy and peace of Christ. But 
if you will give your whole heart to God, if you 
will live close to Him, obeying, loving, and 
serving Him, then I venture to promise that 
you will be happy. Earthly trials will pass 
gently over you ; and, as for earthly joys, they 
will be nothing to you, when compared with 
that ** peace which passeth all understanding,*' 
and which will fill your heart. 

Is there not a happiness in feeling that you 
have in heaven a reconciled Father, who watches 
over you, and loves you — a Saviour, a Friend, 
full of tenderness and compassion, who ever 
liveth to make intercession for you ; who knows 
all your wants, and has a balm for every wound? 
Is there not a peace in the consciousness that 
you are forgiven and accepted of God ; and 
that, fare as you may here, there is before you 
a home of peace, where you shall dwell forever? 

** Spiritual joy (says Archbishop Leighton) 
far exceeds the report that any one can give 
of it. It is *joy unspeakable.' And when a 
man comes to know it in his own breast, he 



HAPPINESS. 253 

will say of it, as the Queen of Sheba said of 
Solomon's wisdom, ' The half was not told me.* 
I Kings X. 7. Religion calls us away, indeed, 
from carnal enjoyments ; but it is to give us 
those which are pure and lasting. It seems to 
say to us, * Drink no longer of the puddle : 
here are crystal streams from a living fountain.* " 

It is not, however, always those who speak 
the most of this joy that have most of it. The 
deepest waters usually run the stillest ; and 
sometimes the heart is too full to tell out all its 
contents. *' The laughter of a fool,'* says Sol- 
omon, is **as the crackling of thorns under a 
pot." Eccles. vii. 6. There is a great blaze 
and noise, but it is soon over. But he who can 
say, *' The righteousness of Christ is mine ; the 
favor of God, and a bright hope of glory, are, 
through God's grace, my blessed portion; " — 
he has such a light within him as can shine in 
the darkest dungeon ; yea, even in the valley of 
the shadow of death itself. 

Truly, it is a blessed thing to be a Christian ; 
but still more blessed to be a rejoicing Chris- 
tian, Now, this is within the reach of all of us. 
It is your duty and your privilege to seek for it. 
Try to be so, even when outward things are 
against you. Fair-weather Christianity (says 
one) is common enough ; but the Christianity 
that will maintain its brightness in the dark and 
cloudy day of adversity is too frequently want- 
ing. And yet what will so convince the un- 



254 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

converted of the reality of your profession, as 
showing that the evenness of your temper, the 
peacefulness of your mind, the happiness of your 
home, do not merely or mainly depend on the 
creature; but that in the midst of abounding 
disappointments and difficulties there can still 
be joy in the Lord? Open your Bible, and 
there you will read the command, '' Rejoice 
evermore;*' '* Rejoice in the Lord always; 
and again I say. Rejoice." i Thess, v. i6; 
Fhil. iv. 4. 

Seek to be happy y^rj^^^/r own sake. What 
a bright coloring it will give to your whole life ! 
Seek to be happy /or the sake of others. Will 
it not act as a charm to draw them also into the 
path which you have found so sweet ? Seek to 
be happy for your Saviour' s sake. For thus 
you will be honoring Him, and bringing glory 
to His cause. 

The religion of Christ is no gloomy thing. 
It gives a brightness and a reality to all our 
earthly ties. It makes us better parents — better 
masters — more loving husbands — more dutiful 
sons — more affectionate brothers. God never 
intended that it should snap asunder these 
earthly bonds, but rather strengthen them. He 
will never blame us for loving our relations too 
much, but for loving Him too little. 

Would you be a happy Christian ? Then live 
much on Christ. Realize His presence. Think 
of Him as your heavenly Friend. Hold inter- 



HAPPINESS, 255 

course with Him as your daily and hourly Com- 
panion. This is the only true home for the be- 
lieving heart. Nothing less will satisfy and fill 
it. You are weak, very weak; but here is your 
strength. Even the feeble ivy is strong, and 
able to climb high, when it clings to the sturdy 
tree ; and so will you be, if you lay hold of 
Him who is able to bear you up. **In the 
Lord have I righteousness and strength. '* Live 
in humble, admiring, self-forgetting fellowship 
with Him. 

Would you be a happy Christian ? Then be 
a holy Christian. Is there a child in any family 
who seems to be happier than the rest? It is 
the one who is ever desiring to obey his parents, 
and delighting to please them. And so the 
child of God, who loves his heavenly Father, 
and walks in his holy ways, enjoys a happiness 
which the world could never give him. Holi- 
ness is the groundwork of the Christian's hap- 
piness : '^ If our heart condemn us not, then have 
we confidence towards God,'* i John iii. 21. 
It has been well said, that happiness is a plant 
that grows nowhere but in holy ground. It is 
God's will that happiness and holiness should 
go together. And what is it that makes the 
bliss of heaven ? Is it not that sin shall be for- 
ever banished, and we shall dwell in the pres- 
ence of a holy God ? 

Again, would you be a happy Christian ? 
Then be a thankful Christian. Few think 



256 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY, 

enough of their mercies. We are apt to take 
them too much as a matter of course. We ask 
eagerly for blessings ; but, when they come, we 
feel little or no thankfulness. We receive the 
gifts, but forget to render thanks to the almighty 
Giver. I am disposed to think that but few, 
in their devotions, spend time enough in praise. 
It is true, God is not the richer nor the 
happier for our thanks. He is not a whit the 
more blessed for our blessing Him. No, it is 
we who are the gainers by it. It is we who are 
made happy by it. God is graciously pleased 
to accept our thanks j and the very offering of 
them contributes to our happiness. Are we not 
told, that ** it becometh well the just to be 
thankful"? Fs, xxxiii. i. 

Only make the trial, and endeavor to live 
more thankfully. You will, I am sure, find that 
the very effort to be thankful will be good for 
you. "In everything give thanks, for this is 
the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 
I Thess. V. 18. " Thankfulness (says a Chris- 
tian writer) is a kindly way of petitioning God. 
Just as vapors drawn up from the earth return 
to it in showers again, so praise for old mercies 
brings down large supplies of new." 

When St. Paul was journeying towards Rome 
as a prisoner, we are told that, meeting with 
some brethren whose sympathy and affection 
refreshed him, he ** thanked God, and took 
courage." And so may it be — so should it be 



HAPPINESS, 257 

—always with us. We should be full of thank- 
fulness and hope. This will cheer us on our 
way ; it will make our course bright, and enable 
us to pass lightly over the trials of this weary 
world. 

Oh, then, for a heart to praise the Lord ! 
Oh for a cheerful, happy, willing obedience ! 
Oh that we may be enabled to rejoice, not only 
when things go smoothly with us, but also when 
the waves of life are ruffled ! May we have the 
same trusting spirit as the prophet had, when 
he declared, * 'Although the fig-tree shall not 
blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the 
labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall 
yield no meat ; the flock shall be cut off from 
the fold, and there shall be no herd in the 
stall, (that is, though all the streams of earthly 
blessing be dried up,) yet I will rejoice in the 
Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.'* 
Hab, iii. 17, 18. 

Truly, the Christian may be happy — very 
happy. His happiness, however, will still be 
imperfect here. It is a happiness intermixed 
with trials. But there is a world to come — a 
promised world of peace for the people of God 
— a world, though unseen, yet real. In that 
world there will be no sorrowful ones — no tears 
to bedew the cheeks, no wrinkles along the 
brow. In that world dwells our Lord; and 
*' in his presence is fulness of joy ; at his right 
hand there are pleasures for evermore.'' Psalm 
17 



258 THE PATHWAY OF SAFETY. 

xvi. II. Think not that our work there will 
be a work of idleness. No, it will be one of 
ceaseless activity. ''His servants shall serve 
Him.*' We know not what our exact service 
will be in that happy world. But doubtless 
there is a work to be carried on in the Church 
above, as well as in the Church on earth. We 
must not suppose that a man*s activity and 
usefulness will be at an end when he leaves the 
world. If Christ has employment for his 
servants here, He has a higher employment for 
them there — a holier, happier, more satisfying 
labor. Some heavenly work will occupy us 
day and night. Is God's service a delight to 
us now? Such will it be ihen^ only in a 
thousandfold greater degree. Prayer, praise, 
waiting upon God, bending our will to His, 
doing His pleasure ; hands, heart, voices, all 
engaged in His service : — this will be our hap- 
piness in heaven — this will be our joyful occu- 
pation throughout eternity. 

Our companions too will be holy — a spotless 
flock — ''washed in the blood of the Lamb,*' 
and "clothed in white robes." And we our- 
selves shall then be perfectly holy also. We 
shall be sinless, and therefore sorrowless; full 
of love, full of light, knowing all things. Here, 
on this sea of life, the Christian is tossed, and 
wellnigh shattered, by many a rough storm ; 
but in that quiet haven of rest not a wave shall 



HAPPINESS. 259 

reach him. He will be safe in the presence of 
his Lord. 

Go on, then, my dear Christian friend ; ** ask 
the way to Zion with your face thitherward/' 
Let nothing turn you from the pathway of safety , 
A few more trials, and then shall come the 
recompense. A little more bearing of the 
cross, and then you shall wear the crown. 
Another hard struggle or two, and then will 
come the victory ! Hear the words of Him 
who is seated at His Father's right hand: — 

*'To HIM THAT OVERCOMETH WILL I GRANT TO 
SIT WITH ME IN MY THRONE, EVEN AS I OVER- 
CAME, AND AM SET DOWN WITH MY FATHER IN 

His THRONE.*' Rev,\\\. 2\. 



THE END. 



ISiiliBi 7 

" 029 789 386 5 ' 



